Mr. Pink kindly wrote in to remind us that it won’t really feel like New Year’s until we deliver the Annual Mochi Choke and Croak Report.

Two men died after choking on traditional mochi rice cake in Tokyo on Tuesday and Wednesday, prompting authorities to issue a warning for elderly people who eat the sticky New Year’s treat.

The Tokyo Fire Department said Wednesday that 13 people had been taken to hospital after choking on rice cake during the two days. Of them, a 59-year-old man of Ota Ward and 83-year-old man of Adachi Ward died.

Department officials said seniors should eat mochi in the presence of others after cutting the cake into pieces.

5 die in Kanto after choking on sticky rice cake

Five people died in the Kanto area on Tuesday and Wednesday after choking on sticky “mochi” rice cake, it was learned Thursday.

In Tokyo, a total of 13 people were rushed to hospital on New Year’s Day and the following day after choking on mochi, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. Two of them — a 59-year-old man from Ota-ku and an 83-year-old man from Adachi-ku — died on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

A 71-year-old man from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, a 76-year-old man from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, and another man living in Yokohama also died after choking on the bubblegum-textured rice cake.

Mochi is traditionally served during the New Year’s period in Japan.

76-year-old man fatally chokes on mochi at Saitama station

A 76-year-old man choked to death at a railway station in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, on Thursday afternoon, after choking on a mochi rice cake, police said. Tomosaku Ohira, from Saitama City, abruptly fell at JR Kawagoe Station around 2:10 p.m. and was rushed to a nearby hospital after paramedics found the mochi stuck in his throat.

Ohira was pronounced dead at the hospital three hours later, police said. Ohira went out alone at about 10 a.m. without telling his family where he was going.

Thanks to Overoften for the updates