Overview
- An explosion ripped through a three-story apartment building in Ichikawa on Saturday, August 1, heavily damaging the first-floor unit and breaking windows in nearby buildings including a municipal junior high.
- Police reported on Aug. 3 that they found the kitchen main gas valve open and a heater hose detached in the injured resident’s apartment, evidence that suggests gas may have leaked before the blast.
- A 51-year-old man who lived in the first-floor unit is unconscious in critical condition with full-body burns and a pelvic fracture, and two other residents suffered minor injuries.
- Keiyo Gas says staff responded after a resident reported a gas smell around 1:00 a.m. the same day and that the company is cooperating with investigators while withholding operational details.
- Authorities are continuing on-scene evidence collection and interviews as they probe both accidental and criminal causes, and the damage raises questions about appliance connections, utility response and local safety checks.