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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Justin McCurry in Tokyo

Three deaths from float crushes raise safety concerns over Japanese festivals

Men carrying huge, illuminated festival floats across the Kamogawa River in Saijo, Japan.
The Saijo festival in Saijo, western Japan. The events are held in thanks to Shinto deities for a plentiful harvest. Photograph: The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

There is mounting concern over the safety of Japan’s traditional festivals after the death of a senior local official who was reportedly crushed beneath a float at the weekend, days after two men died in similar incidents in another part of the country.

Akihiro Nabae, the deputy mayor of Saijo, in western Japan, was carrying a giant float with other participants in a festival on Saturday when he became trapped beneath the structure, Agence France-Presse reported. Nabae, 62, was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead, local media said, adding that no one else was injured.

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