# Three deaths from float crushes raise safety concerns over Japanese festivals

> A deputy mayor dies in a float accident in western Japan, the third similar death in days, prompting questions about festival safety.
- Title: Three deaths from float crushes raise safety concerns over…
- Summary: A deputy mayor dies in a float accident in western Japan, the third similar death in days, prompting questions about festival safety. Three men died in…
- Keywords: saijo festival, danjiri festival, japan, float crush, festival safety, akihiro nabae, news, world, Three, deaths, float, crushes
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/19/safety-concerns-japan-traditional-festivals-fatal-accidents
- Published: 2026-10-19T09:08:34+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: saijo festival, danjiri festival, japan, float crush, festival safety, akihiro nabae, news, world
## Deputy mayor crushed at Saijo festival
Akihiro Nabae, sixty-two, the deputy mayor of Saijo in western Japan, became trapped beneath a giant float while carrying it with other participants on Saturday. He was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.
## Two similar deaths in Osaka days earlier
Less than two weeks before Nabae's death, a fifty-one-year-old man was crushed beneath a wooden float at a Danjiri festival in Osaka prefecture.
## Floats weigh up to four tonnes
The accidents occurred when floats weighing up to four tonnes toppled as they were pulled at speed around tight corners called yarimawashi by hundreds of men.
## Saijo mayor expresses shock at tragedy
Mitsuyoshi Ochi, the mayor of Saijo, said in a statement: "Just when we were about to work together to build a new administration for Saijo, this tragedy occurred.I still can't believe it.

> Just when we were about to work together to build a new administration for Saijo, this tragedy occurred. I still can't believe it.
## Pattern of crush deaths at festivals
In February, two people died in a crush at the naked man festival in Okayama, where as many as ten thousand men dressed in fundoshi loincloths squeeze into temple grounds to compete for sacred wooden…
## Key takeaway

Three men died in separate float crush incidents at Japanese festivals within two weeks, raising safety concerns about traditional events where heavy floats are pulled at speed around tight corners.