Overview
- - In Mutsuzawa, Chiba, a wooden two‑story home burned early Feb. 22 and three bodies were recovered from the remains.
- - Police in Chiba found marks on an electric cord consistent with a short circuit, calling it a potential clue while the cause remains undetermined.
- - Six people lived in the Mutsuzawa house; two adults were hospitalized, the father was away, and two young sisters and their grandmother were uncontactable.
- - In Okaya, Nagano, two adjacent occupied houses and a nearby vacant house were destroyed after a 3:05 a.m. 119 call on Feb. 23, and two bodies were found in one home.
- - Okaya police are working to confirm the bodies are the resident couple in their 70s and are investigating whether a second blaze about 100 meters away is connected.