The fires are advancing toward the residential sections of Otsuchi, prompting evacuation orders for about a third of the town’s population.
• The first fire ignited on Wednesday afternoon in a mountainous region of Iwate Prefecture, with another fire starting two hours later, approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) away, close to Otsuchi’s residential area.
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• Flames are endangering homes across several districts, as 1,225 firefighters, including teams from outside the prefecture, work tirelessly both on the ground and in the air.
• Helicopters from various prefectures and Japan’s Self-Defence Forces are performing aerial water drops to combat the flames.
• The wildfires have devastated more than 730 hectares (1,800 acres), leading to evacuation mandates affecting 1,541 households and 3,233 individuals as of Saturday morning.
• A total of eight buildings, including one residence, have been destroyed, but no injuries have been reported.
• The Japan Meteorological Agency has indicated no rain is expected in the upcoming week.
• Collectively, these fires have charred the third-largest area of any wildfire in Japan, following an Ofunato fire in 2025 that consumed about 3,370 hectares and the Kushiro fire in 1992 that burned 1,030 hectares, according to media sources.
