The number of people who died or disappeared in water-related accidents from June to August fell to a record low of 483, down 47 compared with the same period last year, the National Police Agency said Friday.
That's the lowest figure for summertime accidents in oceans, rivers and lakes on record. The agency started collecting such statistics in 1966.
Fatalities dropped by 46 to 469, while the number of missing people fell by one to 14. But the number of injuries rose by nine to 182.
Kanagawa Prefecture posted the largest number of dead or missing with 28, followed by Niigata with 26 and Hokkaido and Shizuoka with 23 each.