Large fire spreads in central Japan shopping district near sacred Shinto shrine

TOKYO – A large fire broke out on the afternoon of Aug 31 and spread to multiple buildings in a shopping district near Ise Jingu shrine in Ise, central Japan, local police said.The affected district is in central Ise, Mie Prefecture, near the outer shrine of Ise Jingu. The complex is one of Japan’s most sacred Shinto sites, with its inner shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu.At around 3.15pm local time, a witness called emergency services to report a fire in a shopping street near the outer shrine.No injuries had been reported so far, and local firefighters were working to extinguish the blaze.A 78-year-old man who runs a restaurant about 100m from the shopping street said black smoke was rising from the area and that he occasionally heard what sounded like exploding gas cylinders. KYODO NEWS