Mainichi: Fugu chef poisons self while practicing preparation
A licensed fugu chef was taken to hospital after poisoning himself with some fugu blowfish he had prepared himself, Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials said. The 34-year-old chef, employed at a restaurant in Shibuya-ku, was practicing preparation of a higan-fugu, after which he ate its poisonous liver in the mistaken belief that it was safe. Thirty minutes later, he began to experience limb paralysis and was rushed to hospital, after which he suffered labored breathing before finally losing consciousness. He is reportedly recovering. The chef received his fugu preparation license four or five years ago, and was not inexperienced. "It's an incredibly unusual case, and one we don't want repeated," said metropolitan government officials.