Annual mochi death toll post gets harder

Yes, I'm sure someone out there has been waiting for the annual "New Year's Japanese death toll from eating mochi" post. (If you Google "mochi deaths", my 2009 blog post on the topic comes up as No.1. I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing.)

Well, this year the task is proving much harder than normal, because for some reason it seems that no Japanese news source that publishes on the Web in English has carried the news.

Will this stop your blogger? No. I've had to track down the stories in Japanese, and then use Babel Fish to give the contorted translation. Here we go, from Yoimuri Online via Babel Fish:

The rice cake clogging 2 human death 1 person it is heavy the body

The accident where the senior citizens can plug having in the throat one after another, with investigation of the Yomiuri Shimbun Company, in 4 days December 31st - January 3rd, 10 people was carried by the hospital at least inside the prefecture, the inside 2 people died, 1 people became heavily the body of unconscious.

　According to the National Fire Prevention and Control Administra and the like of every place, 1st around 11 o'clock in the morning, the man of Ichihara city (68) to be carried by the hospital of the same city, prompt the death. 2nd, the man of Funabashi city (61) was carried by the hospital of the same city even around 11 o'clock in the afternoon, died promptly.

　In addition, was carried to the hospital 8 man and woman total of 70 - 87 years old in such as Chiba city and Asahi city.

And I think this might only be the problems mochi has caused in just one prefecture. (There's a report of a 60 year old man dying in Asaka.)

So who knows what the national death toll is? But in any event, the dangers of eating mochi on New Years certainly continue. (And, as with last year, terribly sorry to be sounding as if making light of unfortunate deaths.)

Update: for figures for the New Year 2010/2011, see my latest post here.