Japan inn operator admits staff did not change hot-spring bathwater

The operator of a century-old ryokan inn in southwestern Japan on Tuesday admitted telling staff not to regularly change its hot-spring bathwater, which led to levels of legionella bacteria as much as 3,700 times over standard limits.

“Management of the bathwater became inadequate from December 2019 and even more careless with the sharp drop in customers due to the coronavirus pandemic,” Makoto Yamada, head of the operator of the Daimaru Besso inn in Chikushino, Fukuoka Prefecture, told a press conference in apologizing for the incident.

The Fukuoka prefectural government has found that the in...