A summary of public reports, written by Ski in Sky and checked against each source. It is not an official investigation, and it may change as investigations continue.
What happened
The skier, who was travelling, was reported missing on 14 March after the family could not reach him. Once the snow had melted, the police mountain rescue team searched and found him on 12 June 2023 at about 10:30 in the Yunosawa valley on Niseko Annupuri, a no-entry area outside the ski area next to a ski resort. Police were looking at whether he had been caught in an avalanche or had fallen from a cliff while backcountry skiing. JAN records the death as an avalanche, judged from the conditions at discovery, with type, trigger and size unknown and no transceiver carried.
The JAN entry (2023_F09) gives 2023-03-12. JAN says the family asked for a search in March and the skier was found in mid-June 2023, so the day of the avalanche itself is not known. The HTB report, which gave other dates, is no longer online.
Where
Outside the ski areaYunosawa valley on Niseko Annupuri, Niseko town: a closed area outside the ski area, next to a ski resort (JAN).
Known only to the area.
Link to the ski area
Near a ski area, not inside it
JAN describes a closed area outside the ski area, next to a ski resort it does not name. Yunosawa is a no-entry zone under the Niseko Rules; the incident is not attributed to Niseko United.
People
Died1
Injured0
Rescued—Not reported
What is known about the cause
Not confirmed
- The day of the avalanche: JAN lists 2023-03-12, but the skier was missing from March until found in mid-June.
- The HTB report's details (it gave the 12th for a discovery and the 14th for the missing-person report) could not be re-checked; the page returns 404.
- Cause: JAN records an avalanche; police, as reported, were considering an avalanche or a fall from a cliff.
- Caught in an avalanche (police view, reported) (reported by HTB (Hokkaido Television Broadcasting); that source could not be re-checked).
Sources
- Japan Avalanche Network (incident database) ↗
- HTB (Hokkaido Television Broadcasting) ↗
- UHB (Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting) ↗checked in search results
- HBC (via Yahoo! News) ↗checked in search results
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-22.