The Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball won the Central League title for the first time in two years, and overjoyed fans jumped into the Dotonbori River in Osaka. However, experts warned, saying, "The river water is no different from toilet water."
According to local media, including Mainichi Shimbun, Osaka police confirmed that 29 fans jumped into the Dotonbori River after Hanshin secured the league championship by winning against Hiroshima the previous day. Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Hanshin fans have continued the tradition of jumping into the Dotonbori River when the team secures a title. In 2003, when they won the championship, as many as 5,300 people jumped into the river, resulting in one fatality. During the 2023 championship, dozens of fans also entered the river.
However, experts point out that jumping into the Dotonbori River is extremely dangerous. The Japan Analysis Chemical School has been monitoring the water quality of the Dotonbori River annually since 2004, and the latest survey in August found between 200 to a maximum of 5,000 E. coli per 100 milliliters of river water.
The head of the survey, Takashi Miyado, warned in an NHK interview, "The Dotonbori River is not at all suitable for swimming. Jumping in can cause gastrointestinal diseases such as diarrhea. In a metaphor, it's like throwing your body into toilet water."
To prevent incidents, Osaka police deployed about 1,000 security personnel at the scene. Access to some parts of the Dotonbori promenade was restricted, and the Ebisu Bridge, which attracted excited crowds, operated as one-way traffic. Through loudspeakers, they requested fans to refrain from jumping in, saying, "It's dangerous to jump in," but fans continued to leap from the bridge and riverbanks in sequence.
Aware of past experiences, the police also deployed a helicopter for the first time in this championship security operation. However, it has been reported that some fans managed to enter the river from nearby promenades, not from the heavily monitored Ebisu Bridge.
Foreign tourists at the scene were also unable to hide their astonishment at the scene. An American visitor said in an interview with Sankei Shimbun, "I thought Japanese people were reserved and placed great importance on manners, but seeing them jumping into the river was unexpected." He also mentioned, "Watching them enjoy the jump made me feel happy too."
With this championship, Hanshin set a record for securing the regular league title earlier than any other team since the establishment of the two major leagues, Central and Pacific, in 1950.