Four railway workers were struck and killed by an express train at Shin-Kanuma Station in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Thursday, in a rare fatal accident on Japan's rail network. The victims — three workers and a supervisor — had been spraying herbicide on the tracks when the Tokyo-bound Spacia express train, operated by Tobu Railway Co., entered the station. All four were rushed to hospital but were later pronounced dead. Around 50 passengers aboard the train were uninjured.

A total of ten workers were present at the site that morning. Six survived, including two workers, three lookout personnel, and an on-site supervisor. The lookouts' role is to monitor for approaching trains and alert colleagues using flags, whistles, or a microphone — standard safety procedures on Japan's rail network. However, investigators say it remains unclear why the four victims did not clear the tracks as the train approached, or what the lookout team was doing at the critical moment. Japanese media reported that a lookout had signalled the workers were clear of the tracks before the train arrived, deepening questions about what went wrong in the moments before the collision.

Takao Suzuki, head of Tobu's railway business division, issued a public apology following the accident.