The manager of a luxury Japanese inn apologized on Tuesday for only changing the water in its hot spring baths every six months, causing bacteria to grow more than 3,700 times over the limit allowed.
Local regulations provide for a weekly renewal of the water in which men and women bathe separately, traditionally naked after taking a shower.
Makoto Yamada, the president of the company that runs the nearly 160-year-old inn, said the establishment had neglected to maintain clean water by not using enough chlorine.
The official “didn’t like the smell” of the chemical, he told a news conference.
“It was a selfish motive,” Mr. Yamada added, describing the failure as a “wrongdoing that completely neglected the health of our customers.”
The laxity at Daimaru Besso Inn, where Japanese Emperor Hirohito once stayed, started around December 2019.
Since then, the staff of the establishment located in Fukuoka (southwest of Japan) have become more negligent, as the number of customers has dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic, added Mr. Yamada.
Even before the scandal made headlines, there had already been red flags.
Last year, an inspection by the authorities found twice the amount of Legionella bacteria allowed in the water of the hostel’s thermal baths.
The establishment had then “falsified documents to affirm that the chlorine had been correctly added”, admitted Mr. Yamada.
It was a subsequent investigation, carried out by the health authorities, which made it possible to detect a rate of Legionella 3,700 times higher than the regulatory limit.
The bacteria, which can cause lung infections, reportedly sickened a guest who stayed at several hotels, including the Daimaru Besso.