Hole in Road Found in Kawaguchi, Saitama Pref.; Cause of Hole’s Formation Unclear

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:13 JST, June 30, 2025

KAWAGUCHI, Saitama — A passerby made an emergency phone call to police to inform them that that there is a hole in a road in the Minamimaekawa district of Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, around noon on Sunday.

The hole is about one meter in diameter and is located near the center of a municipal road north of a bridge over Tatekawa River, according to local police and other authorities.

There have been no reports of injuries related to the situation.

The hole is in a residential area about 1.4 kilometers east of JR Warabi Station. The cause of the hole’s formation has not been identified. Police closed nearby zones and asked drivers and pedestrians to take detours as of 5 p.m. on the day, explaining that secondary damage may occur.

Officials of the city government rushed to the site after receiving the report and found that the hole is about four meters deep.

A sewage pipe passes through the inside of the hole and the officials confirmed that parts of the pipe were damaged.

Around 5 p.m. on the day, heavy machinery arrived at the site and began working to restore the road. Around the site, odors believed to be from sewage filled the air.