Man Dies After Wind Turbine Blade Falls in Akita; Strong Winds Delay On-Site Inspections

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:10 JST, May 3, 2025

AKITA — A man was found unconscious near the blade of a wind turbine, which had broken off and fallen, in Akita, and taken to a hospital where he was confirmed dead on Friday morning, police said.

The police are investigating whether the blade struck the man who had been several dozen meters away from the turbine at the time. Due to strong winds, on-site inspections were not conducted Friday.

According to the Akita Chuo Police Station, a passerby reported that a wind turbine blade had fallen at Araya Kaihin Koen park at around 10:15 a.m. Friday. Firefighters rushed to the scene and found Takashi Shishido, 81, lying about one meter away from the blade with injuries to his head. A bicycle believed to have been used by the man from Araya-Motomachi in the prefecture was found lying nearby.

The damaged turbine belonged to a single-unit wind power station operated by a Tokyo-based company. According to the company, its three propellers were each 41 meters long and had been installed about 80 meters above ground level.

According to the Akita Local Meteorological Office, a strong wind warning was issued for the entire city from early Friday morning, and the maximum instantaneous wind speed was 20.3 meters per second (around 73 kph) at 10 a.m.

The wind power station with a capacity of 1,990 kilowatts has been in operation since 2009, the company said. After a lightning strike in December 2010 hit the turbine, causing a section of blade to break off, all three blades were replaced.

The company said it has conducted large-scale regular inspections on the power station twice a year, and no abnormalities were found during inspections in November and March.