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The story
Parents who let their children pump gasoline at filling stations just won’t stop, and according to ENCOUNT, some respond to repeated staff warnings with a tongue-click or an outright blowup instead of backing down. Gasoline doesn’t just carry a fire and explosion risk — if it touches skin or is swallowed, it can cause burns or even blindness, the outlet reports. On 5ch, a thread split right down the middle: one camp argued “what’s wrong with letting kids get some experience,” while critics fired back that “there are way too many clueless parents who don’t even know gas can ignite from static electricity.” The debate spiraled into questions over whether any actual regulation exists and what obligations stations have under the Fire Service Act.
Published 10/18 (Sun), 11:10
ENCOUNT
Beyond fire and explosion — burns and blindness are a risk too
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
I get the gut feeling that letting kids do it is dangerous, but is there actually a legal restriction on this, or is it just down to each station's own policy?
There's no age limit written into actual law.
It's a station-level operating policy.
Stores are obligated to confirm safety during refueling.
If a kid spills it, gets it on their skin, licks it,
or swallows it,
there's real danger.
So refusing to let anyone pump gas unless they have at least some grasp of the risks
is a legitimate policy.
Let me guess, you're driving a minivan on a balloon-payment car loan? (a jab stereotyping cheap, irresponsible financing)
You don't know it's dangerous enough to ignite from static electricity?
It'll be too late once it actually happens.
Accidents happen with adults pumping gas too, and nobody's telling them to stop.
It's not too late. We can deal with it once it starts happening a lot.
Not self-service, but back in the day I once saw a rider in the next lane, still straddling his bike mid-refuel, light up a cigarette — my blood ran cold. The attendant panicked and rushed to stop him, but the guy whined something like "I always do this." There really is no bottom to some people's stupidity.
You should think of gasoline less as "flammable" and more as "explosive."
Seriously, this. Idiot parents have basically zero knowledge on the subject.
Don't tell me you think that's the only danger?
T H E N O Z Z L E I S A T A K I D ' S F A C E H E I G H T ,
I T S A Y S S O R I G H T T H E R E ? ? ?
Self-service has long been standard in the US and Europe, but the fuel-inlet design on cars there is actually different. In Japan oversight is split across the transport ministry, the trade ministry, and the fire agency, so it's a mess — but that excuse is still pretty dumb.
That's total nonsense lol. So you're saying every part-time kid working the pumps has a license?
Don't bring up stories from the late Showa era when compliance basically didn't exist.
Kerosene and gasoline are in completely different hazard classes, so…
It's probably just not designed with the assumption that someone without a driver's license would be the one pumping gas.
You actually think anyone's watching those cameras?
In that case just hurry up and suck it out with your mouth.
Re: #58
Either way, that's an instant-kill on the level of "Eternal Force Blizzard" (an anime meme for an absurdly overpowered, one-hit-kill move).
If anything, not stepping in is the problem. It violates Article 40-3-28 of the Regulation on the Control of Hazardous Materials under the Fire Service Act. There's no penalty for the kid doing it or the parent allowing it, but in the worst case the store itself could get its business suspended. If customers won't listen, the station has to refuse service.
Kerosene's fine since it doesn't vaporize easily. Gasoline is the scary one.
Kerosene doesn't ignite easily, but gasoline is volatile, so it catches fire (and can explode).
Background and Key Points of This Debate
Self-service gas stations were legalized under a 1998 revision to the Fire Service Act, but there is no law setting an age limit on who can actually operate the pump. At the same time, hazardous-materials regulations tied to the Fire Service Act require stations to confirm safety during refueling, which makes refusing to let a child who can’t grasp the risks pump gas a legitimate store policy. In the thread, “ignition from static electricity” tends to get treated as the symbolic danger, but the original article also flags burns and blindness from skin contact or swallowing gasoline — risks beyond static electricity that are easy to overlook in the discussion. It’s also worth clearing up that the claim “you need a license” is misinformation; pumping gas itself doesn’t require a hazardous-materials handler license.
*This article is composed as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Gas Station] Kids Pump Their Own Gas, Repeated Warnings Met With Tongue-Clicks and Outbursts — Attendants Sound the Alarm: “Please Just Stop”” from 5ch.
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