Tragedy at Luxury Sauna: Japanese Couple Die Amid 'Broken Emergency Button and Door Handle'

Emergency Button System Was Found to Be Powered Off
Police Launch Full Investigation Into Operator's Responsibility for Safety Management

A tragic accident occurred at a luxury members-only private sauna in Tokyo, Japan, where a couple in their 30s died in a fire. At the time of the incident, the emergency alarm system in the sauna room was turned off, and even the door handle was found to be broken. As a result, the police are investigating the operating company's responsibility for safety management. On December 17, local media outlets such as Asahi Shimbun, NHK, and Nippon TV reported that around noon on December 15, a fire broke out at a luxury private sauna room in Akasaka, Minato Ward, Tokyo, resulting in the deaths of Masaya Matsuda (36) and his wife Yoko (37).

The luxury members-only sauna in Akasaka where the accident occurred. X (X)

The couple was found collapsed near the entrance to the sauna room, with the husband reportedly lying over his wife as if to shield her. Based on the circumstances at the scene, it appears that he was trying to protect his wife while attempting to escape until the very last moment. The deceased, Mr. Matsuda, was known as a famous influencer who ran a beauty salon near Tokyo, and it has been reported that the couple had a young child. On the wife's social networking service (SNS) account, a post with a photo of their young daughter read, "I want to live until this child wears a dress," adding to the heartbreak of the tragedy.

According to the police and fire authorities, the couple had reserved the sauna room for two hours from 11:00 a.m. on the day of the accident, and it is believed that the fire started inside the sauna about an hour after they entered. An external smoke detector was activated, prompting a staff member to notify the fire department, and when firefighters arrived, the sauna room door was found closed.

On-site investigations revealed that the rotating wooden handle installed on the entrance door had detached from both inside and outside and was lying on the floor, making it impossible to open the door by turning it. The police believe this likely caused the couple to become trapped inside the sauna. Additionally, although there was an emergency button installed inside the sauna room, it was confirmed that the receiver device in the management office, which controls the button, was powered off, so pressing the button would not have worked. The operating company’s representative reportedly told the police that the receiver had never been turned on. It was also revealed that there were no staff present in the office at the time of the accident.

According to investigative authorities, there were signs inside the sauna that the couple had tried to press the emergency button and had attempted to break the glass on the door by wrapping a sauna stone in a towel. Subcutaneous bleeding was found on the husband's hand, and there were multiple marks indicating attempts to strike the door glass. The police are investigating the exact cause of death, keeping open various possibilities such as burns, exposure to high temperatures, and smoke inhalation. It is suspected that the fire started when a towel came into contact with the high-temperature sauna stones and then spread to the wooden bench and walls.

Experts are pointing out structural safety issues. In an interview with NHK, a Japanese architectural expert stated, "In a high-temperature enclosed space, it is desirable for the door to open simply by pushing in an emergency," and added, "Rotating handles are at high risk of breaking in hot environments and can delay escape." The police plan to conduct further investigations, including on-site reenactment experiments, to determine whether the operating company violated its safety management obligations and to clarify the causal relationship with the deaths. The sauna in question is known as a high-end facility, with usage fees ranging from 60,000 yen (about 56,800 won) to as much as 390,000 yen (about 3,700,000 won). The operating company issued a statement apologizing to the bereaved families and announced that it would suspend business operations for the time being.