TOKYO –
Handheld followers have change into a summer season important in Japan, however an increase in accidents involving hair changing into caught within the units is prompting warnings over accidents, potential authorized legal responsibility and fires brought on by lithium-ion batteries.
Reports submitted to the Consumer Affairs Agency embrace a case through which an individual standing close to somebody utilizing a handheld fan on a crowded prepare had their hair sucked into the system and pulled.
Similar incidents have additionally occurred when customers carry the followers near their very own faces. One first-year highschool pupil mentioned their hair grew to become caught after transferring a fan too shut due to the extreme warmth, whereas a third-year pupil mentioned their moist bangs grew to become entangled whereas they have been attempting to dry them after sweating.
The drawback stems from how typical followers function. While rotating blades push air ahead to create a cooling breeze, air is concurrently drawn into the system by openings on the rear and sides.
As a outcome, whereas the consumer faces the outgoing airflow, the consumption facet of the fan could also be directed towards folks close by. The stronger the fan setting, the higher the suction drive and the danger of pulling in free hair.
If hair turns into caught, customers are suggested first to modify off the facility, take away the protecting cowl and punctiliously disentangle the hair. In some circumstances, nonetheless, the hair can’t be eliminated and has needed to be minimize.
Accidents involving one other individual’s hair also can result in authorized penalties.
According to legal professional Takashi Saida of Verybest Law Offices, an individual who causes one other individual’s hair to change into caught in a handheld fan may face a compensation declare of a number of tens of 1000’s of yen to round 100,000 yen.
If the hair is pulled strongly sufficient to trigger an harm to the scalp, the consumer may doubtlessly be charged with negligent bodily harm even when the hurt was unintentional.
One approach to cut back the danger is to keep away from utilizing handheld followers in crowded locations and to restrict the period of time they’re operated.
Users also can cool themselves extra effectively by putting a humid towel across the neck and directing the fan towards it. Those preferring to not put on a towel can wipe the neck and arms with a physique sheet earlier than utilizing the fan to extend the cooling sensation.
Fire is one other concern.
A fireplace at an workplace in Tokyo was traced to a handheld fan that had been charging on a desk. The lithium-ion battery constructed into the system caught hearth, leaving partitions and furnishings closely scorched.
Fires involving lithium-ion batteries have additionally been rising in units corresponding to cellular batteries. The Tokyo Fire Department recorded 179 fires believed to have been brought on by lithium-ion batteries from January by May 2026, the very best quantity ever recorded for a similar five-month interval.
The incidents have additionally raised questions over whether or not producers ought to introduce further security measures, together with techniques that routinely cease a fan when hair or overseas objects change into entangled, in addition to wider adoption of bladeless handheld followers.
Keio University professor Makiko Nakamuro mentioned the truth that the Consumer Affairs Agency has issued warnings over one of these accident suggests {that a} substantial variety of circumstances could also be occurring.
She mentioned fundamental consideration for others stays vital, together with refraining from utilizing handheld followers on crowded trains or close to folks with lengthy hair.
As handheld followers change into more and more widespread throughout Japan’s scorching summers, customers are being urged to stability the comfort of private cooling with higher consciousness of the folks round them and the protection dangers posed by the units.
Source: TBS