TOKYO -- A man recently died after falling from a shopping center in the heart of the Japanese capital, in the process injuring a man on the street below. Numerous similar cases of falls from shopping centers have seen bystanders injured or lose their lives. An expert told the Mainichi Shimbun what should be done to prevent these incidents from recurring.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department's Shibuya Police Station, the young man is thought to have fallen from the 10th floor terrace of the Shibuya Parco shopping facility in Shibuya Ward, and was confirmed dead at the hospital where he was taken. Security camera footage reportedly shows him going past a fence by himself. A man in his 50s who was nearby sustained injuries to his head and is thought to have been struck by one or both of the falling man's legs.

Similar incidents have occurred before. In 2006, a man fell from the 13th floor of the Takashimaya Times Square shopping facility near JR Shinjuku Station, seriously or lightly injuring three people who were on the second-floor deck below.

In 2007, a then-25-year-old woman dived off from the roof of Ikebukuro Parco in Toshima Ward, resulting in her death and that of a man, then 38, who was walking on the sidewalk. The managing company afterward made it difficult for people to access the roof.

In 2020, a then-second-year high school student jumped from the roof of the Hep Five shopping center in Osaka's Kita Ward, striking a university student. Both the 17-year-old boy and woman died. Similarly, a then-third-year high school student in 2024 jumped from the roof of a shopping facility directly connected to JR Yokohama Station and hit a woman who was walking on the street. Both people died.

In both of those cases, the high school students were posthumously referred to prosecutors on suspicion of aggravated Causing Death through Negligence.

Sendai University associate professor Tomohito Tanaka, who has detailed knowledge about security at facilities, pointed out, "As similar incidents are repeated, it is critical to reinforce measures on the rooftops of facilities with a large number of unspecified visitors, in expectation that people attempting to jump may visit."

While rooftop squares importantly serve as evacuation spaces in disasters and other emergencies, Tanaka said that it is ideal for there to be walls or fencing at least 3 meters tall -- high enough to not be possible to climb over -- to prevent falls. Aside from physical measures such as not placing planters or other items that could offer a foothold close to the walls, Tanaka said, "It's important to minimize incidents even a little bit through measures such as increased patrols by security guards and adding AI capabilities for security cameras to detect suspicious behavior."

(Japanese original by Yuta Hiratsuka, Digital News Group; and Kayo Mukuda, Tokyo City News Department)