A fire ripped through more than 170 buildings and killed one person in a southern Japanese coastal city on Wednesday, 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.
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.
The blaze started on Tuesday evening and has burned 48,900 square metres- forcing 175 residents in the district, some 770 km (478 miles) 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 fire has caused power outages at around 300 houses in the district, according to Kyushu Electric Power.
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.
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have called for urgent action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as escalating conflict continues to choke one of the world’s most critical energy routes.
Japan and Indonesia will deepen coordination on energy security, Tokyo said, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran disrupts vital oil and gas flows to Asia.
Japan’s growing interest in Caspian crude reflects a pragmatic response to uncertainty in global energy markets and its continued reliance on the Middle East for more than 90% of its oil imports.
Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
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An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 struck in Indonesia's Northern Molucca Sea on Thursday, killing one person, damaging some buildings and triggering tsunami waves, authorities and witnesses said.
President Donald Trump staunchly defended his handling of the month-old U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in a prime-time address on Wednesday, saying the U.S. military was nearing completion of its mission while also reinforcing his threats to bomb the Islamic Republic back to the Stone Age.
Iran has rejected claims it has been weakened, vowing instead “more crushing” attacks against the United States and Israel. President Masoud Pezeshkian also warned that Israel is fabricating threats about Iran, as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed affecting the global energy market.
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Central Asia is stepping up efforts to address rapid glacier melt, following United Nations warnings of unprecedented climate pressure on mountain ecosystems.
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