A series of fires from late Friday night through Saturday morning killed seven people in Hiroshima, Wakayama and Hyogo prefectures, police said.
Four bodies were found after a fire broke out at 10:50 p.m. Friday in the home of Zenichiro Shinkado, 88, his wife, Haruko, 84, and two of their sons in Shobara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
The fire destroyed the residence and an adjacent barn, the police said.
In the city of Wakayama, a fire at around 10 p.m. gutted the wooden home of Teruo Matsumoto, 69, where he lived with his 92-year-old mother and 68-year-old wife.
The body of a man was recovered, while the two women were taken to a hospital.
Meanwhile, a blaze Saturday in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, destroyed the two-story wooden home of Hideo Ikegaki, 54. The body of his 80-year-old mother, Ikuko, was recovered.
In Kobe, a fire engulfed the two-story home of Mitsuyo Kobayashi, 75, on Saturday. A corpse believed to be Kobayashi's was found in the remains.
