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April 22, 2025
 

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OFUNATO

Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami speaks during a news conference on Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2025
Ofunato forest fire declared extinguished
Officials said Monday that there was no longer a risk of the fire breaking out again.
Firefighters head for the site of a massive wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Monday to determine whether the fire has been extinguished.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2025
Iwate wildfire contained, evacuation orders fully lifted
There is no danger of the fire spreading further and firefighters will work to determine if it is has been extinguished, Ofunato Mayor Kiyoshi Fuchigami says.
The massive wildfire that broke out in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 26 has been contained, the city declared Sunday.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2025
Massive Iwate wildfire, the nation's largest in half a century, is contained
The wildfire engulfed about 2,900 hectares — around half the size of Manhattan — making it Japan's largest in more than 50 years.
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Japan partially lifts wildfire evacuation orders
Wet weather, which began Wednesday following a record dry period, is helping firefighting efforts.
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2025
Wildfire slows in Iwate as government announces relief support
The city saw 26.5 millimeters of rain on Wednesday, far exceeding the 2.5mm total for the entire month of February.
Members of the media look out across the bay at smoke rising from a mountain in the rain as firefighters continue to battle a wildfire near the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Iwate wildfire enters second week as rain offers hope of relief
As of Wednesday morning, 4,111 people had been evacuated from Ofunato, or about 13% of the city’s entire population.
Ground Self-Defense Force helicopters return after dropping water as they fight a wildfire around Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Sunday. Firefighters were still battling Japan's biggest forest fire in half a century on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
Japan's worst wildfire in half a century spreads
White smoke billowed from a forested area around the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, six days after the blaze began amid record low rainfall.
Firefighters work to extinguish the forest fire in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, in this screenshot of a video footage from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2025
Why the latest Iwate wildfire is so difficult to extinguish
The unusually dry weather, strong winds, the prefecture's mountainous terrain — as well as what's known as a fire cycle — have made the situation worse than usual.
Smoke is seen rising from the mountains of the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Friday. Authorities said the wildfire kept spreading, burning 1,800 hectares by Sunday morning.
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2025
Thousands flee after Japan's biggest wildfire in decades
There were about 1,300 wildfires across Japan in 2023, concentrated in the February to April period when the air dries out and winds pick up.
Smoke rises from a forest fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 28
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2025
Japan battles biggest wildfire in decades
Flames are estimated to have spread over about 1,200 hectares in the forest of Ofunato in the northern region of Iwate since fire broke out on Wednesday.
A screenshot from a video posted by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency on X on Friday shows firefighters trying to put out the fire in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2025
Wildfire in Iwate rages on as unusually dry weather continues
The size of the affected area has doubled in less than two days.
A wildfire spreads in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Wednesday, prompting authorities to order more than 2,000 people to be evacuated.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2025
At least one dead, 84 homes destroyed in Iwate Prefecture wildfire
This is the third wildfire in Iwate Prefecture in the past week, as dry weather continues.
Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture. As the flames move dangerously close to residential neighborhoods, officials from the city issued evacuation orders late Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2025
Wildfire rages in Iwate as firefighters struggle to contain blaze
No injuries or property damage from the wildfire have been reported so far.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2021
Photo essay: Tsunami survivors call lost loves on the 'phone of the wind'
Thousands of visitors from across Japan have made trips to the phone, including people who have lost relatives to sickness and suicide.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2020
Tohoku land-reutilization project breathes new life into 3/11 danger zones
Towns and cities in the three Tohoku prefectures damaged most by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami are moving forward with plans to reuse abandoned land plots under a group relocation program aimed at disaster prevention.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jul 29, 2019
Controversy surrounding high school ace Roki Sasaki stirs up familiar debate
Ofunato High School was inundated with calls after its loss in the final of the Iwate Prefectural tournament on Thursday.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Pope Francis, radical leader who broke the papal mold, dies at 88
Pope Francis blesses the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican in August 2023.
Japan mulls reviewing car safety rules to strike deal with Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister and top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan tariff negotiator rules out quick U.S. deal despite push by Trump
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top tariff negotiator with the U.S., speaks to reporters upon his arrival at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Friday, a day after talks in Washington.
Shohei Ohtani announces birth of daughter
Shohei Ohtani and his wife Mamiko Tanaka attend a Lakers game in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2024.
The floor is art: Takuro Tamayama transforms mundanity
Takuro Tamayama’s sculpture “Models (Pair, 6 sets, 12 rings)” comes with a mathematical formation that scales it for different spaces.
Nothing sells like Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s marketing megastar
People walk past an advertisement featuring Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani outside Tokyo Dome on March 18.
Calling all Potterheads: ‘The Goblet of Fire’ comes to Tokyo
The Tokyo version of the globe-trotting exhibition features a Ministry of Magic set, which includes an imposing replica of the Magic Is Might monument representing magical fascism.
Tokyo stock picker advises Trump-proofing portfolios with Godzilla creator Toho
The head of Godzilla, a Japanese monster movie character, is seen on a building of Toho Cinema in Tokyo. Toho is one tariff-defensive stock being recommended by brokers.
LDP and CDP lawmaker groups propose 0% consumption tax on food
A vegetable stand displays prices at a supermarket in Tokyo in 2023. Some lawmakers are proposing lowering the consumption tax on food to 0%, which is expected to result in a loss of up to ¥5 trillion in tax revenue annually.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
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By Tomoko Otake

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