FUKUOKA -- The family of a then 7-year-old boy who fatally choked on a quail egg served during lunch at a municipal school in the Fukuoka Prefecture city of Miyama in 2024 filed a lawsuit against the city on June 6 demanding 60 million yen (about $416,500) in compensation.

According to the lawsuit filed with the Yanagawa branch of the Fukuoka District Court and other sources, the boy choked on a quail egg included in a miso oden dish served for lunch on Feb. 26, 2024. Seeing him retching, the school nurse and others tried to help by slapping his back, among other measures, but he was pronounced dead at a hospital to which he was transported.

The family argues that the school staff breached their duty of care and were grossly negligent, saying the serious accident could possibly have been averted if they had warned children that quail eggs could easily become lodged in the throat and told them to take care.

A report submitted in December 2024 by an investigative committee established by the Miyama Municipal Board of Education pointed out that the school staff had a poor awareness of choking hazards.

(Japanese original by Toru Morinaga, Kyushu News Department)