A massive fire has ripped through more than 170 buildings in Oita City, southern Japan, marking the country’s largest urban blaze in nearly half a century. Officials confirmed one fatality after the inferno swept across the Saganoseki area late Tuesday.
Authorities deployed military helicopters and firefighting teams as flames rapidly spread across the hilly coastal community overlooking a famous fishing harbour known for its Seki-brand mackerel.
Images shared online showed long rows of homes reduced to smouldering ruins while thick smoke darkened the skyline.
Strong winds intensified the disaster, pushing flames into nearby forested hills and even carrying burning debris to an uninhabited island more than a kilometre away.
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said the blaze has already consumed about 48,900 square metres an area equivalent to seven football fields.
At least 175 residents were forced to evacuate their homes overnight.
Local media, quoting police sources, reported one death. A woman in her 50s was also taken to hospital with mild burns. Kyushu Electric Power confirmed electricity outages in roughly 300 homes across the affected district.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reacted publicly on X, offering condolences to displaced families.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to all residents who are evacuating in the cold,” she wrote, promising close cooperation with local authorities and rapid government support.
With the scale of destruction and the number of buildings lost, the incident is now considered Japan’s worst non-earthquake-related urban fire since a 1976 blaze devastated Sakata City.
