Iwate: A significant wildfire in northeastern Japan has grown, consuming over 2,100 hectares since last week and endangering more homes, according to Kyodo News.
On Tuesday, Kyodo News reported that the fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, has compelled residents to evacuate as it spreads extensively toward the Pacific coast.
During a parliamentary session, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba assured that all firefighting resources and Self-Defense Forces (SDF) would be mobilized to safeguard homes from the fire's impact.
Firefighters from across the nation, along with SDF aircraft, have been actively combating the blaze, successfully preventing it from encroaching on residential areas in Ofunato as of Sunday, as reported by Kyodo News.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, this forest fire is the largest in Japan since the late 1980s.
Earlier on Sunday, Japan's disaster management agency called for additional fire departments nationwide to assist in combating the ongoing forest fire in Iwate.
Notably, nearly 1,700 firefighters from around 450 departments have already joined the effort to control the fire, which has been spreading for five days since Wednesday in Ofunato, as stated by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
The agency has also requested that the governments of Hokkaido and Yokohama city send some of their firefighters to assist in Ofunato.
According to Kyodo News, firefighters, supported by helicopters including those from the Self-Defense Forces, have successfully prevented the flames from advancing into residential areas of Ofunato along the Pacific coast. However, as of Sunday, approximately 1,800 hectares of land have been scorched, marking an increase of 400 hectares since the previous day.
In a statement released by the Japanese Prime Minister's Office on Friday, Prime Minister Ishiba convened a ministerial meeting to address the forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. He conveyed his "heartfelt sympathy to all those affected by this disaster" and announced that the government had deployed an Emergency Fire Response Team and dispatched Self-Defense Force (SDF) units to assist in disaster relief efforts.
The Prime Minister mentioned the establishment of an emergency response office within the crisis management center of the Prime Minister's Office, which will focus on ensuring the safety of local residents by gathering and organizing information about the disaster and coordinating emergency actions with relevant organizations.
He also communicated with the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Minister of Defence, urging them to "continue to allocate necessary SDF units and exert all possible efforts in firefighting operations, with firefighters and the SDF working in unison to extinguish the fire as quickly as possible."
Furthermore, the Prime Minister emphasized the ongoing rehabilitation efforts, particularly for those whose homes were damaged by the fire, and noted that coordination for providing emergency temporary housing has already commenced.
