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April 02, 2025
 

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WILDFIRES

Imabari Mayor Shigeki Tokunaga announces the containment of a wildfire that started more than a week ago during a news conference on Monday.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 31, 2025
Wildfire in Ehime Prefecture has been contained, mayor declares
The wildfire razed a total area of 442 hectares in the city of Imabari and the neighboring city of Saijo.
An 81-year-old apple farmer who lost her crop walks past the remains of her neighbors' homes after a wildfire swept through the area, in Andong, South Korea, on Thursday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Mar 30, 2025
South Korea's 'heartbreaking' wildfires expose superaged society
The inferno has also laid bare South Korea's demographic crisis and regional disparities.
Masao Omori, mayor of the city of Okayama, the capital of the western prefecture of the same name, announces that a wildfire there had been contained Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2025
Okayama wildfire contained as Ehime eyes similar declaration
A forest fire in Okayama Prefecture has been contained, officials said, while another wildfire in Ehime Prefecture could also be brought under control early next week.
A firefighting helicopter carries water during an operation as a wildfire burns in Yeongyang, South Korea, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2025
South Korea hopes to use break in weather to contain deadly wildfires
At least 28 people have died and more than 45,000 hectares of largely forest land in the country's southeast have been charred or are burning.
A wildfire burns on a hillside in Andong, South Korea, on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 27, 2025
South Korea wildfires 'largest on record,' disaster chief says
More than a dozen fires broke out over the weekend, scorching wide swathes of the southeast, as the death toll rose to 26.
A wildfire in the city of Okayama on Wednesday evening
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2025
Over 900 hectares destroyed in Ehime and Okayama wildfires
In the Ehime city of Imabari, 417 hectares had been burned as of Wednesday, while the fire in the city of Okayama had swept through some 559 hectares.
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 26, 2025
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
A study by European researchers has concluded that the role of human-driven climate change in contributing to the wildfires was undeniable.
A helicopter drops water as they prepare for the possibility of a wildfire advancing towards Gounsa Temple in Uiseong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 26, 2025
Death toll in South Korea wildfires rises to 16
The casualties included four people who were trying to escape the fire but their vehicle was overturned.
A resident films a wildfire devastating a mountain in Uiseong, South Korea, on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 25, 2025
South Korea struggles to contain deadly wildfires
More than a dozen different blazes broke out over the weekend, with the safety minister reporting thousands of hectares burned and four people killed.
Smoke from a wildfire in the city of Okayama on Monday. The fire had subsided by Tuesday while a separate wildfire in Ehime Prefecture continues to spread.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2025
Ehime wildfire blazes on while Okayama's begins to burn out
The wildfire in Ehime Prefecture had spread to cover 171 hectares by Tuesday, although no building damage has been reported.
A photo posted on the X account for the transport ministry's Matsuyama branch in Ehime Prefecture shows a wildfire in the city of Imabari on Sunday night.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025
Firefighters and SDF battle wildfires spreading in Okayama and Ehime
This is the second time the country has seen an unusually large wildfire in recent weeks, following one in Iwate Prefecture last month.
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.
Excavators to be used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove debris from homes destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / FOCUS
Mar 10, 2025
Cascading extreme weather events unleash billions in damages globally
Compound weather, when two or more concurrent events that collectively yield a result worse than if each had occurred on its own, are occurring more frequently.
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.
Prince Hisahito attends his first news conference at Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2025
At first news conference, Prince Hisahito pledges to fulfill royal duties
The prince, who is second in line to the throne, underlined the importance of thinking of the people as a member of the imperial family.
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.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
NFL comeback star Damar Hamlin shares life-saving message in Tokyo
Damar Hamlin poses with students at The American School in Japan in Chofu, western Tokyo, on Thursday.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.

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