Three elementary school boys and the mother of one of them were killed in a fire that broke out in a three-story building in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, police said.
The victims were Tomoko Nakamura, 43, her son, Yu, and his school friends, Haruto Tabata and Rinshun Uto. All three boys were 12 years old.
Nakamura, who ran a beauty salon, lived with her son on the second floor of the building, which also houses a warehouse as well as other residencies. The two other boys were sleeping over at the Nakamura residence Saturday night, police said.
The fire broke out around 8:30 a.m. Sunday and was put out about 2½ hours later.
An 87-year-old woman who lives on the third floor of the building sustained a slight injury to the throat, according to police.
There was no immediate report of what caused the fire.
