Japan Fire at Osaka Mental-Health Clinic Kills 24

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Wall Street Journal.

WORLD * ASIA * JAPAN

Japan Fire at Osaka Mental-Health Clinic Kills 24

Authorities call blaze suspected arson and murder and are reportedly looking for a man with a paper bag at scene

By Miho Inada in Tokyo and Alastair Gale in Osaka, Japan
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https://twitter.com/AlastairGale
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Updated Dec. 17, 2021 6:11 am ET

Twenty-four people were killed after a fire raced through a mental-health clinic on the fourth floor of an office building in Osaka, Japan, and police said they suspected arson.

An Osaka police spokesman said the fire was under investigation as a possible case of murder and arson.

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Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-fire-leaves-27-feared-dead-in-osaka-11639712535

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Twenty-four people were killed after a fire raced through a mental-health clinic on the fourth floor of an office building in Osaka, Japan, and police said they suspected arson

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[XanaDUer2]

1. I wonder if this is a hate crime

Against the mentally ill

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Suspected arson attack on psychiatric clinic in Osaka, Japan, kills at least 24

Asia

Suspected arson attack on psychiatric clinic in Osaka, Japan, kills at least 24

By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma
Today at 1:10 a.m. EST|Updated today at 8:09 a.m. EST

TOKYO — At least 24 people died after a suspected arson attack on a medical clinic in the Japanese city of Osaka on Friday — one of the deadliest blazes in Japan in about two decades.

A fire broke out on the fourth floor of the eight-story building shortly before 10:30 a.m. local time, and it was brought under control within 30 minutes, according to national broadcaster NHK. Rescue teams said 27 people were taken to the hospital showing no vital signs and by that evening, 24 were confirmed dead. Three people were temporarily revived, but it is unclear whether they survived.

The blaze reportedly began in a psychiatric care clinic on the fourth floor. Police said they suspect a man in his 50s or 60s who was a patient of the clinic and was seen holding a paper bag with liquid leaking from it, according to Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese news outlet. ... The suspect was in the hospital in critical condition as of Friday evening, according to Japanese media reports.

Those who died were believed to be attending on Friday morning a weekly program for those struggling with mental health issues to give them the resources to return to work, according to Japanese media reports. The victims’ ages ranged from 20s to 60s. The burned area was a relatively small space, approximately about 215 square feet, fire department officials said.

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Firetrucks are seen in front of the building in Osaka. (AFP/Getty Images)

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By Michelle Lee
Michelle Ye Hee Lee is The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, covering Japan and the Korean peninsula. Twitter https://twitter.com/myhlee