TOKYO — 2001 · Major Tragedy

The Kabukicho Myojo 56 Building Fire

UnsolvedSources: ALast updated: 14 October 2026

At around 1 a.m. on 1 September 2001, a fire broke out in the four-storey Myojo 56 building in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district and burned for about five hours. Forty-four people in a third-floor mahjong parlour and a fourth-floor bar died, mostly from carbon monoxide poisoning. Investigators found that fire doors meant to close automatically and the emergency stairways had been blocked by stored items. Six people, including the building's operators and tenants, were arrested for professional negligence resulting in death, and five were convicted in 2008. Police concluded the fire was arson, but the arsonist was never identified. It ranks among the deadliest fires in post-war Japan.

Date: 2001
Place: Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, JP
Category: Major Tragedy
Case Status: Unsolved
Coordinates: 35.6940, 139.7030 ↗

Timeline of Events

1 September 2001A fire around 1 a.m. killed 44 people.
19 February 2003Six people, including the building's operators, were arrested for negligence.
May 2006The building was demolished.

2 July 2008The Tokyo District Court convicted five defendants and acquitted one.
1 September 2026Victims were remembered on the 25th anniversary; the arsonist is still sought.

Sources

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