OSAKA, Sep 11 (News On Japan) –
A post-victory ritual of leaping into Osaka’s Dotonbori River resurfaced after the Hanshin Tigers clinched the league title, with 29 individuals getting into the water regardless of police warnings and repeated appeals from the town to cease.
Some jumpers admitted they weren’t celebrating Hanshin’s win, saying they leapt as a result of they “felt like” they needed to and had been “not Hanshin fans.” The Osaka Prefectural Police mentioned many ignored on-site directions and obstacles. Mayor Yokoyama known as the conduct “truly regrettable” and urged residents and guests to cease the apply, stressing it’s harmful and should finish.
Health specialists warn the river poses severe sanitary dangers. A technical college that has surveyed water high quality round Dotonbori for greater than 20 years reported {that a} latest sampling detected 200 to five,000 E. coli per 100 milliliters. By comparability, the usual for public swimming pools is successfully zero. Instructors cautioned that jumpers can simply swallow water, resulting in abdomen sickness and different well being issues. The metropolis additionally notes that previous incidents have resulted in accidents and fatalities.
The dives have turn into a recurring downside throughout main baseball celebrations. When Hanshin received the league two years in the past, 26 individuals reportedly jumped. In 2003, about 53 individuals entered the river, and when the crew received the Japan Series in 1985, revelers even threw a Colonel Sanders statue into the water.
The origins of the customized are murky, however interviews performed for this report level to a rakugo performer, Katsura Fukuwaka, who says he took the primary plunge in 1985. Katsura, a Giants fan on the time, mentioned he did it as a punishment sport after dropping a guess with associates. Recalling the soar, he described the water as pitch-black, with particles sticking to his face. He now regrets the act and appealed to the general public to cease, saying, “It’s dangerous. Don’t do it,” and including that as time handed he felt rising guilt in regards to the hassle it might have brought on others.
Local enterprise leaders within the Dotonbori purchasing district additionally urged restraint, emphasizing “tasteful support” for groups and warning in opposition to turning celebrations into hazardous stunts. City officers mentioned they’ll proceed public-awareness efforts forward of future championships to stop additional incidents.
Source: KTV NEWS