Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
A 7-year-old boy drowned after being swept away by a strong current in a river in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Sunday.
According to police, the boy got into difficulties while swimming in the Ado River at around 2:40 p.m., Sankei Shimbun reported. Police said the boy, who was from Kyoto, had been at the river with his father and younger brother.
A fisherman found the boy’s body 20 minutes later, wedged between rocks about 450 meters downstream from where he disappeared.
The boy was taken to hospital by helicopter but died about two hours after arrival.
© Japan Today
16 Comments
Login to comment
kurisupisu
There are many Japanese who know the rudiments of swimming but there are also many who do not know how to swim in rivers
AlternativeOpinion
Water flowing into a rock pool can hold you down as there is not where to go, not to mention the chance of getting a a foot caught . A waterfall or fast falling water from a rock slide into a more open body of water just pushes you away and would unlikely hold you in place. Also a current is very different to these situations and pushes you downstream. Teach kids to swim on an angle to the side with the flow, not against it.
rzadigi
I also regularly swim in the ocean and rivers. I even enjoy taking my big tube down rough rapids. But the currents in large rivers can sometimes be surprising and unpredictable. Some years ago my friends tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate a boy who was enjoying a rock slide in a lovely river. The water coming off the rocks was so strong it pushed him under and he never came up. So tragic. And the river I swam in today is technically closed for swimming due to a death a few years back. Weak swimmers should never enter a river if there’s even the slightest chance of danger. Condolences to the boy’s family. Rest In Peace little guy.
AlternativeOpinion
That's the kind of kneejerk reaction we don't want. I have swam in rivers and oceans all my life and was shocked to actually see that hardly anybody in japan swims in these beautiful rivers. Safety first but don't be afraid of them.
ian
I don't wanna read news like this because I have young kids.
But I read news like this because I have young kids.
Sanjinosebleed
Fast flowing rivers are dangerous for even strong swimmers. It is amazing how fast things can go wrong in these situation even for the most diligent parents!
RIP
HugABareBear
Very Sad
snowymountainhell
“Rest in Peace” little guy. “Condolences” to the truly remorseful father & brother, and of course, the grieving mother. - In time hopefully, they can find peace “as a family”.
Friends, classmates & teachers will certainly find his absence dreadfully painful after the holiday. - Terribly tragic.
AlternativeOpinion
Currents can be very dangerous for the untrained eye, as they are not easily noticeable and can cause even an experienced swimmer to panic. Everyone should not only learn how to swim but also how to swim in unpredictable/potentially hazardous conditions. Also, a large number of adult drownings are caused when they try to save their children.
The Avenger
Dangerous especially after a typhoon.
Harry_Gatto
https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/drownings/by-country/
Harry_Gatto
This is not only a Japanese phenomenon, it happens practically all over the world.
wtfjapan?
I'm just wondering why the kid wasnt wearing a lifejacket as many kids do here? Or was he?
Jim
Children that young should be supervised carefully if swimming in rivers or the sea because the current at times can be really strong! It’s one thing to be a good swimmer in a swimming pool but another to swim out in nature! Most Japanese don’t realize this and get into trouble.
ShinkansenCaboose
I think he was actually dead when the man found him wedged between rocks twenty minutes later.
Japanese people in general cannot swim.