Choking on mochi is so common that authorities offer tips every year on how to help someone who has the food lodged in their throat.

The cakes, known as mochi, are cute round buns made of soft and chewy rice. The rice is first steamed and then pounded and mashed. Mochi-pounding at a shrine in Tokyo The resulting sticky rice ...

Two people died in Japan after choking on mochi to celebrate the new year. Despite officials warning the population about the ...

Four women in their 80s died in Tokyo after choking on “mochi” sticky rice cakes, which are traditionally eaten at the start of the New Year, Tokyo’s Fire Department said. They were among 16 ...

Two elderly men in Japan choked to death on mochi rice cakes as part of a New Year’s tradition that authorities have issued ...