In Japan, the New Year is a time of celebration, filled with cherished traditions and delicious foods. One such delicacy is ...

This is mochi, or rice cake, formed into a round shape to represent a mirror (kagami), one of the three sacred treasures, and displayed at New Year as an offering to the New Year gods (toshigami).

Two elderly men in Japan choked to death on mochi rice cakes as part of a New Year’s tradition that authorities have issued ...

The cakes, known as mochi, are cute round buns made of soft and chewy rice. The rice is first steamed and then pounded and mashed. Mochi-pounding at a shrine in Tokyo The resulting sticky rice ...

Choking on mochi is so common that authorities offer tips every year on how to help someone who has the food lodged in their throat.