5 Arrested for Violent Acts at Ehime Pref. Autumn Festival, Ramming Fellow Float with 3-Ton Drum Stand

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:03 JST, October 19, 2025

Five men were arrested Sunday for violent acts at an autumn festival, including ramming their 3-ton taiko drum stand into another drum stand repeatedly, police said.

The police from Niihama Police Station arrested the men, aged between 31 and 40.

The violence occurred at a square in Niihama on Saturday, the final day of the Niihama Taiko Festival, known for its spectacular displays, including the lifting of drum stands.

According to the police, the five are suspected of urging the people carrying the drum stand they were riding to ram it into another drum stand about 50 times over a period of more than an hour, destroying the other drum stand. No injuries have been reported.