Tokyo: A massive fire broke out at a building that used to be the residence of Japan's former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka on Monday. According to NHK News, the fire department received a report on the incident at 3:20 pm (local time). In the videos that are circulating online, the building can be seen burning heavily with smoke rising. Shortly after the rescue call, the firefighters reported to the location to extinguish the raging blaze. 

According to The Japan Times, the daughter of the former Japanese premier and the country's former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and her husband, Naoki, a former defense minister were present in the compound at the time of the incident. However, the authorities made it clear that all of the aforementioned people evacuated safely. The blaze broke out in the Bunkyo Ward residence and more than 20 fire engines were deployed in response to it. 

The fire left the house in shambles

During the preliminary investigation, 79-year-old Tanaka told the authorities that she was lighting incense sticks in the house. The two-storey house was completely destroyed by the blaze which also managed to burn an adjacent wooded area, The Japan Times reported. "Red flames came out from the house so vigorously that it took a long time to get it under control," a man who was passing by told the Japanese News outlet. The compound is located about 1.5 kilometres east of Mejiro Station in a residential area that also has a university and a hotel near by. The area is touted as a prime location in central Tokyo. While Tanaka mentioned that she burned incense sticks, the authorities are yet to determine the main cause of the fire.