YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) A former villa of the 16th family head of the Sumitomo industrial conglomerate was destroyed in a fire Sunday, police in Yokohama said.
No one was living in the wooden two-story building, which had been designated as a nationally important cultural property. A temporary building next to the 650-sq-meter villa also burned down.
Police did not find any obvious cause of the fire, which apparently started in the villa, so they decided to open an investigation to look into the possibility of arson.
The villa, built in 1939 in a semi-European style, was undergoing renovation work. The temporary building was being used to store construction material and as office space for the renovation effort.