Tokyo Sauna Fire: Couple Dies in Tragedy

In Japan, a husband and wife died in a fire in a private sauna room, the BBC writes.

Local media reports that Tokyo police are investigating whether a broken door handle trapped a couple in a sauna room in the city’s Akasaka district.

Investigators also discovered that the alarm system had been turned off.

Local media reports that 37-year-old Yoko Matsuda and her 36-year-old husband Masanari were killed.

The fire service was called on Monday around 12:25 local time when the facility’s fire alarm went off. When the firemen arrived, the sauna door handle was on the floor.

The pair were found collapsed on the floor on top of each other with their heads against the door, local media reported. They were rushed to the hospital, but did not survive.

A burnt towel was found in the sauna room, suggesting the fire may have been caused by the towel coming in contact with hot sauna stones, police said.

The sauna room had an emergency alarm on the wall to alert staff if help was needed, but investigators found it had been turned off. However, the alarm cap had been removed, suggesting the couple had likely pushed it to call for help.

Police added that when officers were questioned about the alarm, they said it had not been activated “since approximately 2023”, local media reported.

This public sauna has been operating since July 2022 and was last inspected in April 2023, when “no significant defects were found in the facilities”.

Saunas are becoming increasingly popular in Japan, with many establishments offering private rooms, but there has also been a rise in sauna-related accidents, prompting calls for stricter regulation of the industry.

In its statement, the company “Sauna Tiger” stated that it takes the incident “very seriously” and is “fully cooperating with the fire department’s investigation.”

It added that Sauna Tiger “will be closed for the time being” and will offer refunds to all customers with bookings.