By KATSUHISA SAITO/ Staff Writer
December 11, 2025 at 15:23 JST
USHIKU, Ibaraki Prefecture—Local fire departments in the prefecture conducted a rescue training exercise with the 120-meter-tall Buddha statue that holds the Guinness World Record for height here on Dec. 10.
The Ushiku Daibutsu is listed in the Guinness World Records as the tallest bronze Buddha statue in the world.
The training to improve their rescue skills was first held last year in collaboration with the owner of the Ushiku Daibutsu.
It requires a rescuer to carefully descend a rope from the Buddha's eye, which sits about 100 meters from the ground, to reach an individual suspended from the statue.
“It was my first time doing the training at such a height and it gave me confidence,” Ami town firefighter Ryota Oginuma told reporters after the exercise.
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A firefighter descends from the Ushiku Daibutsu statue's eye during a rescue training exercise in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Dec. 10. (Shota Tomonaga)
