A fire-fighting drill was conducted Monday at Shuri Castle, a symbol of Okinawa located at a UNESCO World Heritage site, as it marked the third anniversary of a major blaze that burned much of it down.
Prior to the start of castle reconstruction work on Thursday at the Seiden main hall, local firefighters and security guards worked together to spray water onto a warehouse storing lumber for the rebuilding work, on the assumption that a fire had broken out there.
The drill began at 5:30 a.m., before sunrise. The fire three years ago also broke out before dawn and was not immediately discovered.