Wildfire in Japan’s Yamanashi Pref. Blazes for 3rd Day, as Firefighters, Self-Defense Forces Battle on Ground, from Air

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:11 JST, January 10, 2026

KOFU — Firefighting efforts continued on Saturday, the third day since a forest fire broke out on Mt. Ogi in Yamanashi Prefecture.

From the morning, firefighters entered the rugged terrain of Mt. Ogi, which straddles the municipalities of Otsuki and Uenohara, to battle the blaze from the ground equipped with hoses attached to special water tanks that are carried like backpacks. Self-Defense Forces helicopters also conducted water drops from above.

“I’m anxious seeing smoke rising so close to my home,” said an 80-year-old Uenohara resident currently staying at a nearby evacuation center. “I am so grateful to the firefighters working out there in the cold. I just hope the fire is extinguished soon.”