A large fire broke out Monday afternoon and spread to multiple buildings in a shopping district near Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, central Japan, local police said.
The affected district is in central Ise, Mie Prefecture, near the outer shrine of Ise Jingu. The complex is one of Japan’s most sacred Shinto sites, with its inner shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu.
At around 3:15 pm, a witness called emergency services to report a fire in a shopping street near the outer shrine. No injuries had been reported so far, and local firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze.
According to the police, the blaze was brought under control about four and a half hours later. Mie Prefecture and the city of Ise set up disaster response headquarters, while evacuation orders were issued for more than 500 residents in around 250 nearby households.
A photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter showed that the fire was nearing Ujiyamada Station, a major rail gateway to Ise Jingu shrine that is widely used by both domestic and overseas visitors. — Kyodo
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