Overview
- Authorities reported seven elderly people were taken to Tokyo hospitals between Jan. 1 and 3 after choking on mochi, and a woman in her 80s died after eating daifuku at home in Minato Ward just after midnight on Jan. 1.
- Tokyo Fire Department data updated last month show 338 mochi- or similar food–related hospitalizations over the past five years, with more than 90% involving people 65 or older.
- More than half of those hospitalizations — 177 — occurred in December and January when mochi is commonly served for New Year celebrations.
- Officials renewed safety guidance that urges cutting mochi into small pieces, chewing slowly, moistening the throat with tea or soup, and closely supervising older diners.
- Several of this year’s hospitalized patients remained in serious condition, and recent seasons have included multiple fatalities, such as four deaths in 2022.