Why Japan Requires Life Jackets on Boats but Not at the Water’s Edge

Japan requires life jackets on small boats but not at beaches and rivers. National Police Agency data show older adults and anglers, not swimming children, account for most summer drowning deaths, and rip currents around Ibaraki's artificial headlands cause accidents at six times the rate of ordinary beaches. Why visible calm hides the danger at the water's edge, and what preparation actually decides.