2026 8/5
Formula SAE Japan
Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan
Chairman: Hiroki Nakajima

On Sunday, August 2nd, at the 24th Formula SAE Japan 2026, an electric vehicle participating in the event, which was organized by our organization, caught fire during its vehicle inspection.

After the fire started, initial firefighting efforts were made using fire extinguishers and fire blankets. Under the supervision of the fire department, the vehicle was submerged in a pre-prepared vehicle cooling pool, and complete extinguishing of the fire was confirmed. There were no direct injuries caused by the fire.

Based on our findings so far, we have determined that a short circuit in the high-voltage system was the starting point of the fire, and we have reported this to the fire department.

As a safety measure to ensure the continuation of the competition, we will add inspection items related to high-voltage systems and conduct re-inspections of all EV vehicles. Only EV vehicles whose safety has been confirmed through the re-inspection will be allowed to participate, and the competition will resume with limited content.

The competition for ICV (gasoline engine) vehicles will proceed as planned. The tournament is scheduled to run until August 7th (Friday).

Looking ahead to the next fiscal year, we will utilize the knowledge gained from this incident to review our disaster prevention system, safety education, and vehicle inspection procedures for EV vehicles, and implement further safety measures.

We sincerely apologize for causing so much worry to the participants, their families, and everyone involved.