News On Japan

Fire Engulfs Waste Plastic Plant in Ibaraki

IBARAKI, Nov 24, 2025 (News On Japan) - A large fire that broke out late on November 23rd at a waste plastic recycling plant in the city of Bando in Ibaraki has continued to burn for roughly 18 hours, with no clear timeline for containment. The blaze was first reported at around 10:40 p.m. on November 23rd when nearby residents alerted firefighters after seeing flames and smoke rising from the site.

According to the fire department, the fire is believed to have started in bags filled with crushed waste plastics stored on the plant grounds. From late night on November 23rd through the morning of November 24th, crews worked continuously to suppress the flames, and while the intensity has diminished, approximately 10,000 square meters have already been burned and there is still no indication of when the fire will be fully brought under control.

At the time of the outbreak, two employees who live on-site were in the residential area of the facility but were not working, and no injuries have been reported.

Source: Kyodo

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A tropical depression near the Truk Islands, far southeast of Japan, was moving north-northwest at about 15 kilometers per hour as of 3 a.m. on September 15 and is expected to develop into a typhoon within 24 hours, potentially affecting a wide area from Okinawa through western Japan to the Pacific coast of eastern Japan as it strengthens and moves north.

GO, Waymo and Nihon Kotsu said they aim to launch Japan's first commercial fully driverless taxi service in Tokyo during 2027, using Level 4 autonomous vehicles that can operate without a driver on board under specified conditions.

Kajima Corp. has unveiled the construction site of KAJIMA TREE, a roughly 60-meter wooden tower being built for the International Horticultural Expo that will open in March 2027.

Climbers who get into trouble on Mount Fuji during the official closed season could be charged for rescue by disaster-prevention helicopters under new safety measures being considered by Yamanashi Prefecture.

Genta Koja, a former deputy mayor of Naha who accepts the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko in Nago, won the Okinawa gubernatorial election on September 13, defeating incumbent Governor Denny Tamaki and bringing an end to 12 years of prefectural administrations committed to blocking the project.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching a record 107,677 as of September 1, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

A 29-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant former girlfriend, a nail artist in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, admitted the charges at his first trial on September 14, with prosecutors saying he used tracking tags to locate the woman after deciding he wanted to kill her and "reset" his life to before their relationship.

Tokyo police have found that two teenage girls detained during coordinated patrols in the "Toyoko" area of Kabukicho were carrying forged student identification cards containing false ages and names.

Roads around the Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward were flooded on the evening of September 13 after water began gushing from a nearby road, forcing authorities to close part of the street to traffic.

Newly recovered video from a passenger's digital camera has revealed conditions aboard the Kazu I sightseeing boat before it sank off Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula in April 2022, a disaster that left 20 passengers and crew members dead and six passengers still missing more than four years later.

Police have rearrested a 30-year-old senior member of an organization affiliated with the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi on suspicion of directing a loosely organized criminal group that stole smartphones and other goods worth about 4.15 million yen from stores in Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures.

High-end bonsai are being stolen from gardens across Japan in a growing series of thefts, with some trees later appearing on social media overseas and industry officials saying more than 100 cases are now reported each year.

Three people have been arrested in Kyoto on suspicion of operating an unlicensed underground banking service for Chinese clients, with police believing the group handled transactions worth about 600 million yen in total.