The Least Useful Guide to Fukuoka

Do you remember the frightening accident that happened during the Yamagasa Festival in July? A man in his 50s was run over by a float that he and lot of other men were carrying. 

Although the moment of the accident and his death must have been captured by many, the actual scene has never been shown anywhere. So we don't know how things went wrong and how to avoid another tragedy in the future. To make things even darker and more frightening, there seems to have been no announcement of any special preventative measures or reflection on the event, let alone the termination of the festival. No comment, of course, has been issued from our mayor, who always present at all flamboyant and garish events, including the Yamagasa. 

According to the news report, they proposed measures such as:

- Safety and no accident is the first priority

- If any danger is observed during the Yamagasa race, anyone nearby will blow a whistle to stop the float immediately,

- Make a list of spots where accidents are likely to happen,

- Share this list with all participants, and

- Organize first aid and lifesaving courses throughout the year.  

 ..and so on. 

Believe it or not, these are the suggestions made by adult men of a certain social status after much thought. Not children's reports to their teacher. 

Through this suggestion, they seem to have unintentionally revealed that until the very accident killed a man, they have NOT: a) prioritized people's lives, b) let the participants know if something dangerous happened during the race, c) checked and made a list of where was dangerous in their racing course, and even d) imagined that accidents or even death could happen during the event.