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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.

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Tsunami-hit Iwate beach reopens after 3 years of cleanup

MORIOKA, Japan - Children play at Kirikiri beach in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on July 26, 2014, after it reopened following three years of work to remove debris caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Only one-third, or a roughly 130-meter section, of the beach is open for swimming through Aug. 10 due to ongoing work to rebuild a breakwater.

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Tsunami-hit Iwate beach reopens after 3 years of cleanup

MORIOKA, Japan - Children play at Kirikiri beach in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on July 26, 2014, after it reopened following three years of work to remove debris caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Only one-third, or a roughly 130-meter section, of the beach is open for swimming through Aug. 10 due to ongoing work to rebuild a breakwater.

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Tsunami-hit Otsuchi town compiles new evacuation map

OTSUCHI, Japan - The updated tsunami evacuation map created by the disaster-hit town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, is pictured in this undated photo. The map contains information to help residents prepare for a major tsunami, including evacuation sites and the need to carry photos of their family members if the members get separated, etc. The tentative version was made in August 2013.

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PM Abe visits Iwate Pref.

OTSUCHI, Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talks with members of the Otsuchi Recovery Sashiko Project group in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on July 2, 2014. After the visit to the prefecture, the prime minister revealed a plan to create a new funding scheme to offer financial support for reconstruction from the 2011 disaster. (Pool photo)

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PM Abe visits Iwate Pref.

OTSUCHI, Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits a factory of a marine product processing company in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on July 2, 2014. After the visit to the prefecture, the prime minister revealed a plan to create a new funding scheme to offer financial support for reconstruction from the 2011 disaster. (Pool photo)

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Man prays for his 2011 disaster-victim parents

OTSUCHI, Japan - Yoshihiro Abe prays for his parents, victims of the March 11, 2011, disaster, as he crouches on a walkway before a lot where his parent's home used to stand in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on June 11, 2014. A message to them that he sprayed on the path in blue ink says, "Where have you gone? We are all waiting for your return."

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Message for man's disaster-victim parents

OTSUCHI, Japan - Yoshihiro Abe pours water over a message he sprayed for his parents, victims of the March 11, 2011, disaster, on a walkway in front of the land where his parents house used to stand in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on June 11, 2014.

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Demolition of ex-Otsuchi town office bldg. begins

MORIOKA, Japan - Demolition works of the former town office building in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, begins in full-swing on June 4, 2014 by using heavy machinery. Since opinions of local residents are polarized regarding the demolition of the building, where 40 town officials died due to tsunami in the March 11 devastating earthquake in 2011, part of the building, including the front entrance, will be kept as a relic.

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Children plant 'miracle' rice seedlings

TONDABAYASHI, Japan - Elementary school students in Tondabayashi, Osaka Prefecture, on May 25, 2014, plant rice seedlings cultivated from the seeds of rice plants that were growing in the debris from the March 2011 tsunami disaster in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture.

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Garden designer Sasaki holds 'Kaze no Denwa' picture book

TOKYO, Japan - Garden designer Itaru Sasaki in February 2014 holds picture book "Kaze no Denwa" (The Phone of the Wind), themed after a phone booth he built to provide a place to mourn for people who lost their loved ones in the March 2011 disaster, in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture. Visitors talk with their missing or deceased family members or friends in their heart at the booth. The book was written by children's book author Yoko Imoto.