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Japan: Wildfires Rage in Iwate, Displacing 2,000 Residents and Destroying Homes 3

Two wildfires broke out simultaneously in forested areas of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, in northern Japan on the afternoon of April 22, local authorities confirmed. According to town officials, the blazes have scorched more than 200 hectares of land, with at least seven structures — including residential homes — reported destroyed. In response, authorities issued evacuation orders for approximately 2,000 residents as firefighting efforts continue.

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Japan: Wildfires Rage in Iwate, Displacing 2,000 Residents and Destroying Homes 4

Two wildfires broke out simultaneously in forested areas of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, in northern Japan on the afternoon of April 22, local authorities confirmed. According to town officials, the blazes have scorched more than 200 hectares of land, with at least seven structures — including residential homes — reported destroyed. In response, authorities issued evacuation orders for approximately 2,000 residents as firefighting efforts continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns into the night on April 23, 2026, in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after breaking out the previous day. Wildfires started in two locations in the town, with containment still not in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns into the night on April 23, 2026, in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after breaking out the previous day. Wildfires started in two locations in the town, with containment still not in sight.

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Japan: Wildfires Rage in Iwate, Displacing 2,000 Residents and Destroying Homes 2

Two wildfires broke out simultaneously in forested areas of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, in northern Japan on the afternoon of April 22, local authorities confirmed. According to town officials, the blazes have scorched more than 200 hectares of land, with at least seven structures — including residential homes — reported destroyed. In response, authorities issued evacuation orders for approximately 2,000 residents as firefighting efforts continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns into the night on April 23, 2026, in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after breaking out the previous day. Wildfires started in two locations in the town, with containment still not in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns into the night on April 23, 2026, in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after breaking out the previous day. Wildfires started in two locations in the town, with containment still not in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns into the night on April 23, 2026, in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after breaking out the previous day. Wildfires started in two locations in the town, with containment still not in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns into the night on April 23, 2026, in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after breaking out the previous day. Wildfires started in two locations in the town, with containment still not in sight.

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Japan: Wildfires Rage in Iwate, Displacing 2,000 Residents and Destroying Homes

Two wildfires broke out simultaneously in forested areas of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, in northern Japan on the afternoon of April 22, local authorities confirmed. According to town officials, the blazes have scorched more than 200 hectares of land, with at least seven structures — including residential homes — reported destroyed. In response, authorities issued evacuation orders for approximately 2,000 residents as firefighting efforts continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Photo taken on April 23, 2026, shows the site of a wildfire that broke out the previous day in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Wildfires that broke out in two locations in the town continue with containment still not in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Smoke from wildfires that broke out at two locations in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, covers the city center the following day, April 23, as people look on.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Smoke from wildfires that broke out on April 22, 2026, at two sites in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, shrouds the city center on April 23, as the fires continue with no end in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Smoke from wildfires that broke out on April 22, 2026, at two sites in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, shrouds the city center on April 23, as the fires continue with no end in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Smoke from wildfires that broke out on April 22, 2026, at two sites in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, shrouds the city center on April 23, as the fires continue with no end in sight.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News plane shows smoke rising from a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 23, 2026, as wildfires that broke out at two sites in the town the previous day continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News plane shows smoke rising from a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 23, 2026, as wildfires that broke out at two sites in the town the previous day continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News plane shows smoke rising from a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 23, 2026, as wildfires that broke out at two sites in the town the previous day continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Photo taken from a Kyodo News plane shows smoke rising from a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 23, 2026, as wildfires that broke out at two sites in the town the previous day continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Firefighting operations continue on April 23, 2026, in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, as wildfires that broke out at two sites in the town the previous day continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

Firefighting operations continue on April 23, 2026, in the town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, as wildfires that broke out at two sites in the town the previous day continue.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

People watch a wildfire burning in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, as local authorities urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate. Another fire broke out in the same town earlier in the day.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

People watch a wildfire burning in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, as local authorities urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate. Another fire broke out in the same town earlier in the day.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

People watch a wildfire burning in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, as local authorities urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate. Another fire broke out in the same town earlier in the day.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate. Another fire broke out in the same town earlier in the day.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate. Another fire broke out in the same town earlier in the day.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in woodland in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026. Another fire broke out in the same town the same day, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate. Another fire broke out in the same town earlier in the day.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

People watch a wildfire burning in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026. Another fire broke out in the same town the same day, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026. Another fire broke out in the same town the same day, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

People watch a wildfire burning in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026. Another fire broke out in the same town the same day, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026. Another fire broke out in the same town the same day, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate.

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Wildfires in northeastern Japan

A wildfire burns in a mountainous area in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on April 22, 2026. Another fire broke out in the same town the same day, prompting local authorities to urge over 1,000 residents to evacuate.

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[Breaking News]Fireworks launched for victims of March 2011 disaster

OTSUCHI, Japan, Aug. 15 Kyodo - Fireworks are set off in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Aug. 15, 2025, in memory of those killed in the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster that devastated the northeastern Japan town. (Kyodo)

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Fireworks launched for victims of March 2011 disaster

Fireworks are set off in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Aug. 15, 2025, in memory of those killed in the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster that devastated the northeastern Japan town.

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Fireworks launched for victims of March 2011 disaster

Fireworks are set off in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Aug. 15, 2025, in memory of those killed in the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster that devastated the northeastern Japan town.

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Fireworks launched for victims of March 2011 disaster

Fireworks are set off in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Aug. 15, 2025, in memory of those killed in the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster that devastated the northeastern Japan town.

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Fireworks launched for victims of March 2011 disaster

Fireworks are set off in Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Aug. 15, 2025, in memory of those killed in the March 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster that devastated the northeastern Japan town.

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12th anniversary of 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

A woman prays while facing the sea in the Iwate Prefecture town of Otsuchi, northeastern Japan, on March 11, 2023, the 12th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster that devastated the country's northeast.

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Temporary housing residents' picture-story shows

MORIOKA, Japan - Yuriko Nakamura (front L) and other residents of temporary housing in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, hold hand-made picture-story cards based on local folklore on June 18, 2014, in the northeastern Japanese town.

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New Year decoration at makeshift barber shop in Iwate Pref.

OTSUCHI, Japan - Tetsuro Abe puts up a New Year decoration around the entrance of his makeshift barber shop in the disaster-hit town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Dec. 31, 2011. The barber shop, which was opened by his father and had been in business for 40 years, was washed away by the March 11 tsunami.

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Tsunami-hit railway line to be restored

MORIOKA, Japan - East Japan Railway Co.'s Namiitakaigan Station on the suspended Yamada Line is shown with its rails cut off in the distance in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, in this file photo taken in November 2014. The company and the local community agreed on Dec. 24, 2014, to restore the line wrecked by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

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Fish shop owner in tsunami-hit town fillets salmon

TOKYO, Japan - Shoetsu Mukushi, owner of a family-run seafood-processing firm, cuts a lightly salted salmon into fillets in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Dec. 8, 2014. The town and other parts of the northeastern Japan region of Tohoku were ravaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami in 2011 but he revived the business a month after the disaster.

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Worker in tsunami-hit town shows off marine products

TOKYO, Japan - Yuko Mukushi of a family-run seafood-processing firm in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, shows off a box of filleted salmon and other marine products at a shop in the prefectural city of Kamaishi on Dec. 9, 2014. Her father revived the business a month after the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the region in 2011.

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Car parked near site of home swept away by 2011 tsunami

OTSUCHI, Japan - Yoshihiro Abe, who lost his parents in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern Japan region of Tohoku, has his car parked in this file photo of Aug. 11, 2014, near the site of their home that was swept away by the disaster. He regularly visits the location in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, by driving about two hours from the inland town of Shiwa.

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Man takes flowers to parents' home on mother's birthday

OTSUCHI, Japan - Yoshihiro Abe, who lost his parents in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern Japan region of Tohoku, carries flowers to the site of their home in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on July 7, 2014, the birthday of his mother Koyo.

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Japanese high schooler at Fukushima festival in Paris

Paris, France - Rinoa Nakai of Otsuchi High School in Iwate Prefecture talks with visitors on Aug. 31, 2014, at a booth at a two-day cultural event in Paris titled "Ring of Tohoku Rebirth," an OECD project to help the 2011 earthquake-hit northeastern Japanese region get back on its feet. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also visited the event.

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'Benzaiten' statue before and after repair

OTSUCHI, Japan - The repaired statue of "Benzaiten," a Japanese goddess originated from the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is shown on the right in Otsuchi town, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 31, 2014, a far cry from the tattered figure (L) pictured in May 2013 after it was damaged by the devastating 2011 tsunami.

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Repaired 'Benzaiten' statue unveiled in Iwate Pref.

MORIOKA, Japan - The statue of "Benzaiten," a Japanese goddess originated from the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is displayed in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 31, 2014, after repairs from damaged caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami were completed. It was originally enshrined at the town's gourd-shaped Horai Island (L back), regarded as the model of the island in the TV puppet show "Hyokkori Hyotanjima."

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Fireworks display to mourn victims of 2011 disaster

OTSUCHI, Japan - People watch a fireworks display in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 11, 2014, to mourn the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the northeastern Japan region.