Japan's biggest fire in nearly 50 years ravages 170 buildings, kills one
At least 170 buildings in Japan's southern city of Oita were affected by the fire.
This photo taken on Nov 19, 2025 and released from Oita Prefectural Government shows an aerial view of the scene following an overnight fire in a residential area near the Saganoseki Fishing Port in Oita City. (Photo: Handout/Oita Prefectural Government/AFP)
TOKYO: A fire ripped through more than 170 buildings and killed one person in a southern Japanese coastal city on Wednesday (Nov 19), with military and firefighting helicopters scrambling to extinguish the country's largest urban blaze in almost half a century.
Aerial footage from broadcasters showed houses reduced to rubble and thick plumes of smoke rising from the hilly Saganoseki district of Oita city, which overlooks a fishing harbour renowned for its premium Seki-brand mackerel.
The flames had also spread to nearby forested slopes and an uninhabited island more than one kilometre off the coast, likely due to strong winds, local media reported.
Dozens of fire engines and more than 200 firefighters were mobilised to battle the fire, which was not fully under control nearly 20 hours after it started. The Ground Self-Defense Force dispatched two UH1 army helicopters to assist.
The blaze started on Tuesday evening and has burned 48,900 square metres - roughly the size of seven soccer fields - forcing 175 residents in the district, some 770km southwest of Tokyo, to flee to an emergency shelter, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, the agency added.
One person has been found dead, local media reported citing police sources, while a woman in her 50s was reported to be hospitalised for mild burns.
"I extend my heartfelt condolences to all residents who are evacuating in the cold," Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a post on X.
"The government will provide the maximum possible support in collaboration with local authorities," she wrote.
Japanese television footage showed smoke rising from swaths of land filled with destroyed and damaged houses, though orange flames were no longer visible by midday. The Oita prefecture said about 260 homes remained without electricity Wednesday afternoon.
A resident told Kyodo News Agency she quickly fled without many of her belongings because the fire “spread in the blink of an eye.”
The number of buildings and size of the area engulfed in flames make it the largest urban fire in Japan since a 1976 blaze in Sakata, excluding incidents caused by earthquakes. In 2016, a fire in Itoigawa burned 147 buildings and about 40,000 square metres. No one was killed.
