There is mounting concern over the safety of Japan’s traditional festivals after the death of a senior local official who was reportedly crushed beneath a float at the weekend, days after two men died in similar incidents in another part of the country.

Akihiro Nabae, the deputy mayor of Saijo, in western Japan, was carrying a giant float with other participants in a festival on Saturday when he became trapped beneath the structure, Agence France-Presse reported. Nabae, 62, was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead, local media said, adding that no one else was injured.

He died less than two weeks after a 51-year-old man was crushed beneath a wooden float he was riding at one of the annual Danjiri festivals held in southern Osaka prefecture. The same day, a 48-year-old man was killed in a similar accident at a Danjiri event in a nearby town. Police said 16 people were injured in the incidents.

Participants push and pull a float during the Danjiri festival celebrations in Anan, Tokushima.…