Deaths from float crushes raise safety concerns over Japanese festivals

Growing safety concerns have emerged surrounding Japan’s traditional festivals following a series of fatal accidents involving heavy festival floats.

Akihiro Nabae, the 62-year-old deputy mayor of Saijo in western Japan, tragically died on Saturday after becoming trapped beneath a giant float during an autumn festival. This incident occurred just days after two men were killed in similar accidents at a Danjiri festival in Osaka prefecture, where heavy wooden floats toppled while being pulled at high speeds around sharp corners. These consecutive tragedies have sparked urgent calls to review safety measures for centuries-old cultural events that heavily feature massive, fast-moving structures.

Details from police and media reports reveal that the massive wooden structures, which can weigh up to four tonnes, pose extreme hazards during tight maneuverings known as yarimawashi—a highlight where hundreds of men pull floats rapidly around narrow street corners. In Nabae’s case, eleven 3-tonne floats were lined up side-by-side during the Edo-period historical festival when he became trapped underneath. Saijo Mayor Mitsuyoshi Ochi expressed shock and grief over the loss of his colleague just as they were establishing a new city administration.

These incidents, alongside a February tragedy in Okayama where two participants died in a crowd crush at the annual “Naked Man Festival,” have intensified pressure on authorities to implement stricter crowd management and safety protocols to protect both official organizers and traditional festival participants.