It has been 20 years since the accident that 11 spectators of the fireworks display died at the pedestrian bridge in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture.

The father, who lost his two-year-old son at the time, complained, "Safety and security should not be weathered. I want you to once again have a day of origin when thinking about safety."

On July 21, 2001, a fireworks display spectator collapsed on a pedestrian bridge in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture, and 11 people, including 9 children, died and about 250 people were injured.

Seiji Shimomura (63) from Kobe City lost his second son, Tomohito, who was two years old at the time.



Mr. Shimomura was so crowded on the pedestrian bridge that he couldn't move and felt dangerous, so he had Tomohito stand behind the railing and protected himself with his body as a shield, but he was hit and fell. It means that Tomohito became the underlay of the folded person.



I rescued him immediately, but he was unconscious, and it took about an hour to transport him to the hospital by ambulance, so I felt a strong resentment, "Is the security plan well considered?"



A total of five people, including the Akashi City staff who hosted the fireworks display and the police officer who was in charge of crowd control, were charged with negligent fatalities and injuries, and the conviction has been confirmed.

Looking back on the past 20 years, Mr. Shimomura said, "I have been trying to prevent the recurrence of the accident in the trial and to clarify the truth for that purpose. I feel like I'm leaving it. I think that accidents will weather in society over time, but safety and security should not be weathered. The starting point for everyone to think about safety once again I want you to do it on that day. "

Efforts to convey lessons learned from Akashi City Training for all staff

Twenty years have passed since the accident that 11 spectators of the fireworks display died at the pedestrian bridge in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture, and more than half of the staff entered the city hall after the accident.



From this month, the city has been conducting training for all staff and has begun efforts to convey lessons learned.

The training was conducted online for all approximately 3,000 employees, and the teaching materials were created by Mr. Koji Ueda, the section chief in charge of the city's General Safety Measures Office.



Mr. Ueda entered the Akashi City Hall in April 2001, just before the pedestrian bridge accident, and was on guard near the pedestrian bridge on that day.



Regarding the accident, Mr. Ueda said, "I noticed that the bridge was crowded because I was nearby, but I felt my weakness that I did not think would lead to the accident. For the victims and bereaved families I'm really sorry. "



In Akashi City, an artificial sandy beach collapsed in December of the same year, and a 4-year-old girl who was buried in the sand subsequently died.

The materials I created are about 60 slides, and I use photographs to summarize how the two accidents happened and how I should take actions to protect the safety of the citizens as a city employee.



Mr. Ueda thought about his own comments and asked the staff hired after the accident, "Don't you think the accident was caused by a past staff?" I am an employee of Akashi City. "



One of the trained new employees said, "I thought we had to be careful as the accident was caused by an organization called Akashi City."



Mr. Ueda said, "I want you to take seriously that it is the responsibility of the city hall staff to protect the lives and livelihoods of the citizens."