'Water Changed Twice a Year' Japanese Onsen Owner's Will: "Please Take Care of It"

Paper Believed to Be a Will Found... Suspected Extreme Choice

The former president of a hot spring accommodation facility in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, who sparked controversy after it was revealed that the hot spring water was changed only twice a year, was found dead.

According to NHK on the 12th, Makoto Yamada, the former president of the company operating the hot spring inn 'Daimaru Bessou' in Fukuoka Prefecture, was found dead around 7 a.m. that day on a mountain path in Chikushino City, Fukuoka Prefecture, by a passerby who reported it to the police.

Yamada Makoto, president of the hot spring inn 'Daimaru Villa' located in Chikushino City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, held a press conference in Fukuoka City on the 28th of last month to apologize for the fact that the hot spring water was replaced only twice a year.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A note believed to be a suicide letter was also found inside Yamada's car parked near the mountain path. The note reportedly read, "I'm sorry. Everything is due to my lack of virtue. Please take care of what comes after me."

'Daimaru Bessou,' a tourist hot spring facility in Chikushino City, Fukuoka Prefecture, was recently criminally charged for violating Japan's Public Bathhouse Law. Local police conducted a search and seizure of the hot spring and Yamada's residence on the 11th. The police are investigating on the assumption that Yamada took his own life following the search and seizure.

According to Fukuoka Prefecture regulations, hot spring water must be replaced at least once a week. However, this inn changed the water only during the Japanese holidays of New Year's and 'Obon' (August 15 in the solar calendar) for several years. In an inspection conducted last November, Legionella bacteria were detected at levels up to 3,700 times the standard limit.

After this fact became public and caused public outrage, former president Yamada held a press conference on the 28th of last month and apologized, saying, "Around December 2019, I told the staff that it was okay not to change the hot spring water in the bath because there were few people," and "I am sorry for causing trouble due to my foolish thinking."

Regarding the inadequate chlorine disinfection, Yamada explained, "I thought Legionella bacteria were not a serious threat, and I disliked the smell of chlorine," and "Management became lax as customers sharply decreased due to COVID-19." Yamada resigned on the 2nd after the press conference.

Meanwhile, Daimaru Bessou is a hot spring destination boasting a history of 158 years since it began operations in 1865. It is known to have been visited by the Emperor of Japan and is famous for attracting many tourists not only from Korea but also from overseas.