The drowning incident occurred on 15 August 2019 at the 'Fluffy Water Land' (ふわふわウォーターランド) attraction in Toshimaen, an amusement park that was located in
Nerima, Tokyo. This attraction featured water-based
inflatable play equipment. A young girl, referred to here as 'A', who was wearing a
life jacket, was found floating beneath the play equipment and subsequently drowned. This incident became the subject of an investigation by the
Consumer Affairs Agency. It was concluded that the girl had fallen into the water, slipped under the play equipment, and was unable to escape due to the buoyancy of her life jacket. In response to this incident, the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry established guidelines for the safety of water-based play equipment.
Accident site The accident occurred at Toshimaen, which opened in 1926, with the pool opening three years later in 1929. The 'Fluffy Water Land' had been in operation since 2016. It was installed in a competitive swimming pool with eight lanes, measuring 50 metres in length, 20 metres in width, and a depth ranging from 1.2 to 1.9 metres. There were areas where someone of person A's height could not touch the bottom. The "Fluffy Water Land" had more than 10 water-based play equipment, known as air toy types. which float on the water surface by inflating them with air. They are easy to store when deflated and can be reshaped in various ways, which are their advantages. However, there were no nets or similar installations to prevent entry under the toys. At the "Fluffy Water Land", users had to be taller than 1.1 metres and were required to wear
life jackets provided for drowning prevention and to prevent entry under the toys. The life jackets provided at the "Fluffy Water Land" were solid-structured, using
expanded polystyrene for buoyancy, and were shaped like a
waistcoat. The waistcoat was worn by putting both arms through and fastening it at the front, with adjustments made accordingly. In addition, users of the "Fluffy Water Land" were verbally asked if they could swim on their own. Many users were also seen wearing armbands, according to eyewitnesses of the accident. At the "Fluffy Water Land", it was not uncommon for people to fall into the water from the toys, and on top of that, there were people who dropped their
goggles into the water at a rate of two per hour.
Accident At the time, A was an 8-year-old girl in her third year of primary school, residing in
Asaka City, Saitama Prefecture. At approximately 1:30 pm, B lost sight of A and asked the lifeguards to search for her. However, the lifeguards merely used a
loudspeaker to call out, "Is A here?" and directed B to the lost child centre, without immediately conducting an underwater search. They asked B to wait until 2 pm. At 2 pm, a routine inspection began, during which all pool users were asked to get out of the water. According to pool patrons who witnessed A being pulled out of the water, she was pale and limp when she was rescued, and a person believed to be C was screaming. They sought a total of approximately ¥ 75 million (£377,600) in damages from Toshimaen, its parent company
Seibu Railway, the contractor in charge of surveillance, and the manufacturer and installer of the play equipment. Toshimaen officials attended A's funeral, but did not participate in the condolence visit and did not comply with the out-of-court dispute resolution procedure. In an interview with the
Sankei Shimbun, C stated that there had been comments from Toshimaen and others that the accident was unforeseen, and regarding the document received from Toshimaen after the accident, C said, "The content seemed to be blaming each other for the accident, and I didn't feel any sincerity at all," "What do they think of my daughter's life?" and "I didn't feel any sense of apology at all." The pool management company responded to an NHK interview immediately after the accident, stating that they had not anticipated that someone would enter under the play equipment. The first oral argument took place on 14 September 2020, but all the defendants indicated a willingness to contest the case and asked for the plaintiff's claim to be dismissed. Seibu Railway merely commented, "We offer our condolences again. We will clarify our claims in the lawsuit".
Bunshun Online reported that it is certain that the trial will be prolonged, as all four defendant companies are blaming each other for the accident. On 6 March 2023, a settlement was reached in the Tokyo District Court. The details of the settlement were not disclosed. ==Renewal==