The Myojo 56 building fire (明星56ビル火災, Myōjō Gojū-Roku Biru Kasai) began in the Kabukicho section of Shinjuku, Tokyo at about 01:00 local time on September 1, 2001. The fire, the fifth-deadliest in post-war Japanese history, claimed 44 lives and burned for five hours before being extinguished. In the aftermath of the incident, media coverage focused on the arrest and conviction of the property owners for criminal negligence and on the building’s p...
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The Myojo 56 building fire (明星56ビル火災, Myōjō Gojū-Roku Biru Kasai) began in the Kabukicho section of Shinjuku, Tokyo at about 01:00 local time on September 1, 2001. The fire, the fifth-deadliest in post-war Japanese history, claimed 44 lives and burned for five hours before being extinguished. In the aftermath of the incident, media coverage focused on the arrest and conviction of the property owners for criminal negligence and on the building’s putative ties to organized crime.
The fire burned on the third floor of the building. When the fire broke out, 19 people were on the third floor and 28 people were on the fourth floor. Three employees jumped out of the building from the third floor and survived, suffering injury. Witnesses who saw one of the employees called an ambulance.
Emergency responders arriving to treat the jumpers learned of the building fire and evacuation efforts commenced. Firefighters removed the bodies of 44 people (32 men and 12 women) from inside the building,...
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