Photo/Illutration The schoolyard at Tezukayama Junior and Senior High School where the lightning strike occurred. Photo taken on April 11 in Nara (Toyokazu Kosugi)

NARA—Of the six teenagers rushed to the hospital after being struck by lightning in a schoolyard during an evening soccer practice here, two remain in critical condition in the hospital on April 11. 

At around 5:50 p.m. on April 10, the Nara City Fire Department received a call saying, “Three boys collapsed and are unconscious because of a lightning strike” at the schoolyard of Tezukayama Junior and Senior High School in Nara.

According to the Nara prefectural police’s Nara Nishi Police Station, five 14-year-old junior high school boys and one 16-year-old senior high school girl were hospitalized.

One boy had gone into cardiac arrest and two others were in comas.

Police said the girl and two remaining boys experienced numbness in their arms and legs. 

Both junior and senior high schools were closed the following day and Tezukayama Gakuen, the corporation that runs them, posted a statement on its website outlining the incident and providing an update on the students' conditions.

According to Tezukayama Gakuen's post, light rain began falling around 5:40 p.m. and was followed by heavy rain after a brief pause. Lightning struck shortly after. 

There were 114 students and eight teachers present, including the soccer club’s adviser, during the incident. 

CPR was administered to the injured students with an automated external defibrillator (AED) while waiting for an ambulance, the school said. 

Police and the hospital reported that the boy who suffered cardiac arrest remains unconscious and is in critical condition, as is his classmate who remains in a coma.

The other boy who was also in a coma has regained consciousness. 

The three students hit with numbness were discharged by the end of April 10. 

FLEXIBILITY AND RESPONSIVENESS

A thunderstorm warning from the Japan Meteorological Agency for Nara Prefecture had been in effect since that morning.

The JMA said that cold air over Japan collided with warm, moist air circling the edge of a Pacific high pressure system on April 10, causing extremely unstable atmospheric conditions.

This instability was expected to continue over a wide area of western and eastern Japan through the night of April 11, requiring caution against lightning, tornadoes and high winds.

“A sudden increase in wind is a sign of thunderstorms,” a JMA official said. “If you see lights or hear thunder even in the distance, you should refrain from outdoor activities.”

In a similar incident, 18 people were taken to the hospital after being struck by lightning during a soccer practice match, also in a schoolyard, in Miyazaki Prefecture in April 2024. 

The education ministry responded by issuing a notice to take thorough measures to prevent lightning strikes during physical education activities. 

However, even greater vigilance appears to be necessary after this year's accident. 

Along with the JMA's announcement, the Nara prefectural government and the Nara prefectural board of education issued a notice on April 11 to the prefecture's public and private schools.

It stated that teachers and instructors “should be aware of the danger of lightning strikes and should take measures such as canceling any activities without hesitation in the event of a sudden change in weather conditions.” 

(This article was compiled from reports written by Hayato Sakata, Misuzu Tsukue, Yikai Zhou and Hiroyuki Kikuchi.) 

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