A fire broke out early on the morning of October 12 at the Ogawa No. 2 plant of Yoshino Kogyosho in Nakagawa Town, Tochigi Prefecture, according to 朝日新聞. By 4 p.m. that day, more than ten hours after the blaze began, firefighters were still working to put it out.
Citing the Nakagawa police station of the prefectural police, 朝日新聞 reports that the fire is believed to have started in the area of a warehouse on the factory grounds where plastic products and materials are stored. The plant operates around the clock, but all 46 employees had evacuated by 11:35 a.m., and there were no reports of injuries or anyone left behind.
Other outlets covering the same incident described heavy black smoke and intense flames, and reported that the fire continued burning well past the six- and eight-hour marks without a clear estimate for when it would be brought under control. 朝日新聞 noted that plastic products and related materials were among the items burning.
The cause of the fire has not been established in the reporting so far. Authorities have not said what sparked it or how much damage the plant sustained.
What to watch next: whether fire crews can bring the blaze under control, and any official finding on the cause.
