Bath water at troubled Japan inn changed only twice a year ‘since 1998’, says ex-employee

The bath water at a Japanese inn, which was reported to have bacterial levels 3,700 times the limit, had been changed only twice a year “since around 1998”, said a former employee of Daimaru Besso, local media reported.

The ex-employee, who was not named, also said that the chlorine concentration levels in the bath water had not been measured since around 1998, according to a report in Mainichi Shimbun on Wednesday, citing prefectural police.

This led the police to suspect that the inn, which was opened in 1865, in the western Japanese prefecture of Fukuoka, had poor hygiene management for some 25 years at the direction of the former late president.

Mr Makoto Yamada, 70, was found dead in March, shortly after allegations surfaced that the inn changed the bath water only twice a year. The authorities suspected that Mr Yamada took his own life.

In August 2022, inspections by the authorities revealed that bacteria levels in the inn’s bath water were initially twice the level allowed.

The water in the hot springs, or also known as onsen, are meant to be changed at least once a week, according to local rules governing onsen maintenance.

The inn had reported to the authorities that it had been disinfecting and changing the water according to the guidelines.

A spot check by officials in November 2022 found that bacteria levels were as much as 3,700 times the accepted level. This prompted the inn to admit that since 2019, it had been changing the water only two days in a year when it was not operating.

The Mainichi Shimbun report said that Fukuoka Prefectural Police sent papers on Tuesday to prosecutors against Mr Yamada and the inn, on suspicion of violating a public bath law.

At the time of his death, Mr Yamada was reportedly accused of making his employees forge a report.

The alleged forged report claimed that the bath water was changed at least once a week and the chlorine concentration levels were properly measured according to the regulations. The report was submitted to the prefectural government in September 2022.

The Mainichi Shimbun added that the inn admitted to the allegations and Mr Yamada had also reportedly told police the allegations were true before he died.

Police have demanded that prosecutors indict the inn, but the report said that prosecutors are likely to drop the charges against Mr Yamada.

The incident has cast a spotlight on the hygiene management of public baths in Japan, as well as the importance of proper regulation and enforcement.