Newsfrom Japan
Society
Dec 22, 2025 09:01 (JST)
Tokyo, Dec. 22 (Jiji Press)–One week after two customers died in a fire in a private room at a luxury sauna facility in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, police are investigating the facility’s operator for possible professional negligence resulting in death.
According to investigative sources, the Metropolitan Police Department has so far found evidence suggesting that the two customers tried desperately to escape the sauna unit in the private room as the sauna’s door was broken and the emergency system did not work.
The fire occurred around noon on Dec. 15, and the victims–Masanari Matsuda, a 36-year-old beauty salon owner, and his wife, Yoko, a 37-year-old nail technician–were found lying near the door inside the sauna. They were rushed to hospital but pronounced dead.
The L-shaped handle of the door was detached and found on the floor, leaving the door unable to open. Scratches were found on the glass door, and Matsuda’s hand showed signs of internal bleeding apparently from hitting the door.
The emergency button in the sauna unit was damaged, likely from being pressed repeatedly and forcefully. The emergency alarm receiver was installed in the facility’s office on the first floor, but it was left unactivated.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Jiji Press
AloJapan.com