Fire Chief Suspended For Forcing Colleagues to Play Homemade Board Games

A Fire Chief in Japan has been suspended, and nine other firefighters issued reprimands and written warnings, for playing homemade boardgames during working hours, and forcing subordinates to particpate.

The Inazawa City Fire Department, in Aichi Prefecture, announced that it had suspended a fire chief in his 40’s for one month. Fire Chief Yoshihiro Okada was found guilty of forcing his colleagues to participate in homemade board games between July 2024 and January 2025. The incident came to light in January when one of the employees reported it. The fire chief had made 10 different board games and, because they were neglecting their duties to play board games, had instructed his team to falisfy their work reports. They also colluded to cover up the incident when it came to light.

The games used rules modelled after various card and word based games, and crew members even had to spend their alloted nap breaks on the games, while employees who refused received the cold shoulder. One staff member participated 14 times for a combined 35 hours, and a fire commander in his 50’s who joined the sessions also received a disciplinary reprimand.

No money exchanged hands, which ruled out gambling, which would have resulted in heavier penalties.

Yoshihiro Okada reportedly said “It was part of communication. I deeply regret it.”

The story was reported on a number of Japanese news sites including The Mainichi

Image courtesy of The Mainichi X (formerly Twitter) account.