Report: Fatal accident caused by Japanese GSDF personnel who were not fully aware of grenade dangers; GSDF revises safety manual to prevent recurrence

The reason for the fatal accident during grenade throwing training at the Ground Self-Defense Force’s Kitafuji training ground in Yamanashi Prefecture in May was that GSDF personnel on site were not fully aware of the dangers posed by grenades, according to a report by the GSDF’s accident investigation commission released on Thursday.

The accident occurred on May 30 and a 29-year-old sergeant died. After his death, he was promoted to Sergeant First Class.

After another GSDF member threw a grenade at a target about 30 meters away from behind a U-shaped protective wall about 1.1 meters high, a grenade fragment hit the sergeant’s neck after the explosion. The sergeant gave orders while standing next to the other GSDF member.

The report concluded that the sergeant did not know proper safety precautions, did not know the trajectory of the grenade after it exploded, and that the commanding officer had not given him adequate instructions.

According to the report, the sergeant was crouching about 2.8 meters behind the protective wall and held his head lower than the wall. Some shrapnel flew in a parabolic trajectory over the wall and hit his neck, about 80 centimeters above the ground.

The report states that the sergeant was not aware that the participants were also at risk of being injured by shrapnel. In addition, he was not in a well-protected position because he did not have a backrest against the wall.

Because the commanding officer and other nearby members apparently did not understand basic safety protocols, they were unable to provide appropriate instructions.

The grenade launcher was about 1.3 meters away from the protective wall and remained unharmed.

The GSDF manual provides safety protocols for the use of grenades and states that members should “lean against a protective wall and duck as quickly as possible.”

To prevent similar accidents from happening again, the GSDF will revise the manual to make it more understandable and ensure that safety procedures are thoroughly implemented in practice. The GSDF will also have participants watch a video before grenade throwing training.