By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-20 14:16:42 | Updated at 2026-06-20 15:35:08
1 hour ago
A person fatally struck by a bullet train in central Japan on June 19 entered the tracks through a gap in the platform fencing at JR Hamamatsu Station, according to police.
In the incident on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, which disrupted travel for about 140,000 people due to delays and cancellations, security camera footage showed the individual climbing down through a gap in the platform fencing and walking towards the outbound tracks, the police said on June 20.
The person was struck there by a passing bullet train bound for Hakata in south-western Japan after departing Tokyo, the footage and other sources showed.
Hamamatsu station in Shizuoka prefecture has no platform doors installed for safety.
Central Japan Railway said seven of the Tokaido shinkansen line’s 17 stations, including Tokyo, Nagoya and Shin-Osaka, are equipped with platform doors, and that it is working to install them at the remaining stations. Staff patrol stations without the doors. KYODO NEWS
