December the Peak Month for Fires in Japan

Fire Statistics

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported that there were 37,141 fires in 2024, causing 1,451 fatalities, while fire damage amounted to ¥10 billion.

On average, there are 101 fires per day in Japan, or one every 14 minutes. Among the total fires in 2024, 20,972 occurred in buildings, 831 in forests, 3,546 in vehicles, 62 in ships, and 3 on aircraft, while the remaining 11,727 fell under other categories.

A total of 1,030 people died as a result of residential fires (excluding arson-related suicides), with 779 of the victims 65 or older, which was an increase of 17 over the previous year.

Toward the end of the year there was sharp rise in incidents of fire, with December the peak month, followed by January, March, and April. Reasons for the frequency of fires in winter and early spring include the fact that this is the driest and windiest time of the year.

Among the 37,141 fires that occurred in 2024, the leading cause was cigarettes, which was related to 3,058 incidents (or 8.2% of the total), followed by 2,781 incidents from open-air fires (7.5%), 2,718 from stoves (7.3%), 2,577 from electrical equipment (6.9%), and 2,377 from arson (6.4%). However, if the category of “arson” is combined with “suspected arson,” the number rises to 3,904 incidents, or 10.5%, making it the leading cause.

In the case of residential fires, those involving portable stoves were the most common type, followed by fires from electrical appliances, cigarettes, electrical equipment, and wiring and electrical installations.

Preliminary figures released by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency show that the number of incidents involving fires in the first half of 2025 (January to June) totaled 21,525, an increase of 8.8% compared to the same period the previous year. Residential fires claimed the lives of 469 people who were aged 65 or older, for a year-on-year increase of 5.9%.

Data Sources

• Fire statistics (January–December 2024) (Japanese) from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
• Fire statistics (January–June 2025) (Japanese) from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: A major fire in Ōita on November 18, 2025. © Jiji.)