15:34 JST, May 3, 2024
An elementary school student choked on marshmallows and fell unconscious at an after-school children’s club in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, according to an announcement from the Ishigaki municipal government Thursday.
The child, who has not been identified to protect privacy, has reportedly been hospitalized since the April 22 incident.
According to the announcement, the child choked on marshmallows served as a snack at the private children’s club in the early evening. Staff at the facility punched the choking child and managed to get a marshmallow out, but the child subsequently fell unconscious and was sent to hospital.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s guide to schools on food instructions states that foods with little moisture and round food products pose a high risk because they can cause choking by getting stuck in the pharynx, and measures are needed. to make them safer. Steps include making such items smaller so that children can eat them more easily.
