An investigation is being launched after a man with vision disabilitiy was killed by a train after he fell off the edge of a train station platform in Tokyo.
Mitsunobu Yoshimoto, 51, a resident of Tokyo, was hit by a train on the JR Sobu Line at Asagaya Station on July 26. He was using the station while traveling to give massages to elderly people. His wife voiced her feelings of regret, saying that the incident may have been prevented had there been platform doors at the station.
Surveillance camera footage at the station showed Yoshimoto falling onto the tracks after losing his footing while walking by himself on the platform, according to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Suginami Police Station. Yoshimoto tried to climb up to the platform on his own, but was apparently hit by a train. His white cane was left at the scene.
As a massage therapist, Yoshimoto was also passionate about volunteer work for people who could not usually receive such treatment. He had worked with an incorporated nonprofit group since the spring of 2017 to hold free massage sessions in Asagaya for single mothers every month, Mainichi reported
Yoshimoto’s wife responded in an interview on July 27, “I think that he wanted to live more. He was loved by so many people. I wish that platform doors would be installed so that everyone can board and get off trains safely.” East Japan Railway Co. plans to establish platform doors at all stations on major lines in the greater Tokyo area, including Asagaya Station, but the target date for completion is not until the end of fiscal 2032.
