Tokyo - Saba:
The Japanese government said on Friday that forest fires in northeastern Japan have burned the largest area of land in more than 30 years.
The Japanese Kyodo News Agency, citing local authority sources, said that the fires broke out in Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture and have spread over the past three days over an area of at least 1,200 hectares.
Local firefighters and the Self-Defense Forces are struggling to control the fire, while the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has intensified its efforts to limit the damage.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency in Japan said that these fires have surpassed the previous record of 1,030 hectares in Kushiro, Hokkaido, which was recorded in 1992, making it the largest area affected by a forest fire since then.
Local authorities said that since the forest fires began on Wednesday, one person has died and more than 80 houses have burned.
The number of helicopters deployed to fight the fires has increased to more than 15, better equipped to drop water. The Ofunato government also warned that more than 3,000 residents remain under evacuation orders.
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