Seven people were killed and three others injured after a fire broke out Sunday morning at the Hotel Prince in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, police said.
Three men and four women were killed in the 7 a.m. blaze, with a hotel employee among the three injured, the police said.
The death toll rose to seven after a victim initially in serious condition was later pronounced dead.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
About 20 guests were staying at the four-story hotel when the fire broke out, they said, adding it was extinguished shortly after 10 a.m.
"I smelled something bad, so I looked out a window," said a housewife, 57, who lives nearby. "Then I saw black smoke spewing from the hotel."
Witnesses also saw a couple make their escape by jumping out of the window of a second-floor room and landing without serious injuries.
