More than 170 buildings went up in flames in Oita City, southern Japan, in a massive fire that has left one person dead and is believed to be the country’s worst urban fire in nearly five decades. The fire broke out on Tuesday night and saw military and firefighting helicopters quickly scrambled to douse the inferno.
Dramatic images shared online showed streets lined by charred structures, with thick smoke filling the skies above the Saganoseki district – a hilly community overlooking a renowned fishing harbour famous for its premium Seki-brand mackerel. Strong winds further fanned the disaster, pushing the fire towards nearby forests and even reaching an uninhabited island more than a kilometre away.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan reported that the blaze burned about 48,900 square meters, an area roughly the size of seven football fields, forcing about 175 residents to flee their homes.
Local media reported that at least one person died in the fire, while a woman in her 50s was taken to the hospital with slight burns. Power company Kyushu Electric also reported that approximately 300 homes lost power in the incident.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a message on X, conveying sympathy for the displaced in the cold and promising close coordination by the government with local authorities to hasten urgent assistance. The fire, given the number of buildings it consumed and the extent of the zone hit, is now considered Japan’s largest non-earthquake-related urban fire since the 1976 disaster in Sakata City.
