The Minato Ward Accident
On June 3, 2006 16-year-old student Hirosuke Ichikawa attempted to back out of an elevator while on his bicycle at a housing development in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. Unfortunately, the elevator suddenly began to travel upward before Ichikawa cleared the doors, and he soon became trapped between the ceiling and the doorframe. As a result of this highly-publicized tragedy, elevator safety in Japan was called into question by the Tokyo High Court.