Safety concerns are mounting across Japan regarding the operation of traditional festival floats following a series of fatal accidents, including the recent death of a senior municipal official. Akihiro Nabae, the 62-year-old deputy mayor of Saijo in western Japan, died after being trapped beneath a giant float during a festival on Saturday. Mr. Nabae was participating in the procession with other festival attendees when the accident occurred; he was transported to a hospital but was later pronounced dead. No other injuries were reported in this specific incident.
This tragedy follows two other fatal accidents involving similar structures that occurred less than two weeks prior. A 51-year-old man and a 48-year-old man were both killed in separate incidents during Danjiri festivals held in the southern Osaka prefecture. Police reported that those two accidents resulted in injuries to 16 additional people. According to authorities, the accidents often occur when the heavy wooden floats, which can reach weights of up to 4 tonnes, topple over while being pulled at speed through tight corners. These maneuvers, known as yarimawashi, serve as a central highlight of the festivals, which were historically established to pray for successful autumn harvests.
In Saijo, where the festival has been observed annually since the Edo period (1603-1868), investigators are still working to determine the exact cause of the deputy mayor's death, noting it remains unclear if he lost his balance or if the float toppled directly onto him. At the time of that accident, 11 floats—each weighing as much as 3 tonnes—were positioned side by side. The Saijo festivals typically feature over 100 floats and are held to offer thanks to Shinto deities for grain crops. Earlier this year, in February, two additional deaths occurred during a crush at the “naked man festival” in Okayama, where thousands of participants compete to seize sacred wooden sticks.
