Each week, here at Osaka.com, we bring you a selection of some of the top stories about Osaka making the local and national news here in Japan. Sometimes it’s serious, sometimes it’s funny, but it’s always direct to you, from Osaka.
ExpoCity Ferris Wheel Fault Leaves Riders Stranded
One of Osaka Prefecture’s most popular tourist attractions suffered a rare breakdown last week. The “Osaka Wheel” is Japan’s tallest Ferris Wheel, standing at 123 meters tall. The ride, part of the ExpoCity entertainment complex, built on the site of the Osaka 1970 World Expo, broke down for several hours last week.
The ride broke down at approximately 5.45pm on November 25th. However, firefighters were soon on the scene at ExpoCity to assist. Unfortunately for them, the process of rescuing the passengers was a long and laborious one.
The last of the unfortunate, stranded victims, was not rescued until 2:40am the following morning, almost 9 hours after the initial breakdown.
No one was injured in the incident, and both those stranded on the wheel and ExpoCity staff praised the fire service for their quick and supportive response to the emergency.
ExpoCity Ferris Wheel Failure “Caused by Lightning Strike”
Investigations into the exact cause of the incident continue this week. However, initial reports suggest the cause of the breakdown was a failure of the Osaka Wheel’s controlling system. Investigators believe a lightning strike may have blown out the system, causing a widespread power failure.
This was not a problem that could be remedied quickly. In the end, emergency services and staff had no option but to slowly and carefully rotate the wheel manually, and offload each gondola individually.
Most of the occupants were able to disembark by themselves, but two groups totaling 7 people evacuated by fire truck ladder as the night drew on, and colder temperatures set in.
Whilst such instances are extremely rare, this does serve to highlight the vulnerability of exceptionally tall rides and attractions to lighting strikes. As a baseline example, Tokyo Sky Tree, the Tallest structure in Japan, and about 5 times the height of the Osaka Wheel, is hit by lighting an average of 10-12 times per year.
Osaka Couple Arrested Over Smuggling Operation
A Japanese man and his Vietnamese wife from Higashiosaka City fell foul of the law this week, when they were accused of illegally importing and selling a fine, white substance.
No, it’s not what you think. Though these days, the street values are probably similar!
The couple stand accused of illegally importing and mislabeling foreign rice.
The offense allegedly concerns around 300 metric tons of rice, imported from Vietnam. It was then willfully mislabeled as domestic produce before being sold on to a number of stores across Japan, bringing in around 130 million yen ($840,000 US) in sales.
The couple have allegedly admitted to the offence, saying “Japanese rice is too expensive. The only way we could make a profit was to import foreign rice”.
While their conduct certainly isn’t acceptable, the defendants do kind of have a point in terms of rice costs. Domestic prices have soared in recent months, Currently, the average supermarket price for a 5kg bag of rice is around 4,300 yen. The defendants in this case were selling their falsely labelled rice for 5,300 yen per 10 kgs.
And Finally…
Osaka residents were once again reminded this week of the dangers of continuing to use faulty power packs with their mobile phones.
There have already been two instances this year of people suffering minor burns on Osaka’s busy trains. In both cases, the burns came after mobile phone charging packs caught fire due to overheating.
Experts warn that winter is an especially dangerous time for these kinds of incidents.
Due to the colder weather, people are more likely to accidentally leave the battery packs next to heaters. They are also prone to leaving them plugged in for longer than is necessary. Increased heat is, typically, the major cause of these fires. If users notice their device is excessively hot they should stop using it immediately. Consumers should also keep an eye out for any sudden swelling or bulging in the device..
The travel industry has already responded to the danger posed by faulty power banks. In a new directive issued this week, passengers travelling in and out of Kansai Airport are being advised not to stow mobile power packs in the overhead compartment. Instead airlines ask them to keep the devices close at hand during the flight.
JR West Bus Company adopted similar policies recently too.
That’s all for now but be sure to check back again same time next week for another round of this week in Osaka!
