AICHI, Mar 19 (News On Japan) - A pregnant woman who fell onto the tracks at an unmanned station in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, was rescued by five local high school students, later reuniting with them after safely giving birth to her child.
Kimura Kei, 35, who lives in Nishio, gave birth to her long-awaited first son one month ago, but behind the birth of the child lay an unexpected and life-threatening incident.
The incident occurred at Sakuramachimae Station on the Meitetsu Nishio Line in Nishio, an unmanned station without on-site staff, where Kimura, who was seven months pregnant at the time, was using the station at around 1:30 p.m. in November 2025.
After passing through the ticket gate and walking toward the platform, she suddenly felt dizzy. "On my way to the platform, I suddenly lost consciousness, and my legs just kept moving forward on their own, and I fell onto the tracks," Kimura said.
She lost consciousness and fell about one meter from the platform onto the tracks, regaining awareness only after she was already lying there, with a train scheduled to arrive in about five minutes and no staff present at the unmanned station.
At that moment, help arrived. "A high school student came down onto the tracks, and five of them called out to me asking if I was okay, and their voices woke me up," Kimura said.
Determined to express her gratitude, Kimura later searched for the high schools whose students regularly used the station, contacting three nearby schools by email and phone to ask if any students had helped a pregnant woman who fell onto the tracks.
Her message was shared across entire classes, prompting several students to step forward. "They distributed the message to the whole class, and everyone said, 'It was me,' and I received a reply from a teacher saying, 'Yes, they are our students,'" Kimura said.
The five students who rescued her were Shibata Airi and Hiramatsu Nahana, both second-year students at Nishio High School, along with Muramatsu Taisei, Kanematsu Fumiya, and Aikawa Yui, who had just graduated in March. They had just finished their final exams and were on their way to cram school or home.
"We were talking about studying for exams, and when I turned around, I saw her fall," Aikawa said. Despite the suddenness of the situation, they acted instinctively. "I just felt that I had to help immediately," Aikawa added.
Aikawa climbed down onto the tracks to support Kimura from below, while the other four students pulled her up from the platform. Familiar with the train schedule from regularly using the Meitetsu Nishio Line, they confirmed that no train was approaching from either direction before carrying out the rescue.
Kimura later reflected that if the students had not been there, she might not have regained consciousness in time and could have been struck by an oncoming train, a thought that still frightens her.
After the incident, Kimura was taken to hospital, where she was diagnosed with a risk of premature birth and admitted for emergency care.
On February 14th, Valentine’s Day, she safely gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing 2,970 grams. "It feels like a miracle. At first, I didn’t know what would happen, but I’m truly glad he was born safely," she said.
On March 18th, Kimura visited Nishio High School with her baby to reunite with the students who had saved her.
"Congratulations," the students said as they gathered around. "Go ahead and hold him—he’s a bit heavy," Kimura told them, as they gently cradled the baby, their expressions soft with emotion.
"It’s scary… but so cute. It feels like my own child," Aikawa said. "When we helped, I thought it was just one person, but now I realize we saved two lives," Kanematsu added.
"Seeing that he was born makes me really happy. He’s so cute," Hiramatsu said.
Kimura expressed hope of meeting the students again in the future after her child grows older and learns about what happened. "I want him to become someone who, like those students, can reach out without hesitation to help people in need right in front of them," she said.
The coordinated efforts of the five students helped protect a precious life, highlighting the importance of quick thinking in emergencies.
According to Meitetsu, even at unmanned stations without emergency alert systems, intercoms are installed on pillars and near vending machines, allowing passengers to contact staff and request trains to be stopped before entering the platform in case of an emergency.
Source: Nagoya TV News
