Three men and a woman were taken to hospital, and one of them, Yoichi Kikuchi, 32, died a day later. Another victim, Hitoshi Maruyama, 33, remains in critical condition, while the other two sustained minor injuries. The lightning struck at around 12:30 p.m.

About 2,500 people were at the beach at the time, but many of them took refuge at nearby rest areas after heavy rain hit the area soon after noon.

At the time of the incident, it was raining heavily in eastern Chiba and warnings of lightning and heavy fog had been issued, according to the Meteorological Agency.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 6, 2005
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