Martial Artist Visiting the 'House of Ghosts' Pays 90 Million Won for a Mistaken Kick

Martial Arts Expert Visiting Kansai Theme Park in Japan
Delivers High Kick in Haunted House While Intoxicated
"Amusement Park Also Responsible for Failing to Prevent Incident," Claims

A karate black belt visiting a "haunted house" in Japan kicked an employee dressed as a ghost in the chin. On the 28th, Sankei Shimbun reported

"Mr. A, a karate black belt who visited a theme park in the Kansai region, drank alcohol at lunch and entered the haunted house with an acquaintance. When employee Mr. B, dressed as a ghost, appeared, Mr. A kicked him in the chin with his right foot."

Mr. B suffered a serious injury with a fractured chin and filed a lawsuit against Mr. A for damages. Mr. A settled by agreeing to pay Mr. B 10 million yen (about 92 million won). However, it is known that Mr. A later filed a lawsuit against the amusement park demanding a share of the settlement payment due to the large amount.

Mr. A’s side argued, “Since the amusement park’s haunted house is based on a ‘fear’ concept, they should have foreseen that any visitor, including those skilled in martial arts like combat sports, might react physically out of surprise. The amusement park neglected its duty to prevent such incidents.” They demanded that the amusement park bear 70% of the settlement amount.

Furthermore, Mr. A stated that partitions should have been installed between haunted house visitors and employees dressed as ghosts. He also pointed out that the haunted house staff were not trained to avoid sudden attacks from visitors. The amusement park did not inform visitors that the ghosts were employees in costume, nor did it refuse entry to visitors who were intoxicated, for which Mr. A claimed the amusement park was responsible.

However, the court did not accept Mr. A’s claims. In January, the first trial court noted that the amusement park instructed employees not to touch guests or stand directly in front of them, and also warned visitors verbally or via video before entry not to touch the ghost-role staff. The court ruled that the amusement park was not obligated to foresee visitors’ active aggressive behavior. Mr. A appealed, but last month the second trial court also rejected his claims, stating that Mr. A’s actions “exceeded the scope of reflexive behavior caused by fear.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.