Fire breaks out at former Japanese PM Kakuei Tanaka's old residence in Tokyo

TOKYO -- A fire broke out at late former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka's residence in Tokyo on Monday, local media reported.

The Tokyo Fire Department received a report of the fire at the residence in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward at around 3:20 pm local time (0620 GMT), public broadcaster NHK said.

About 20 fire trucks and other vehicles were dispatched to put out the fire, and the fire was almost extinguished around 5:40 pm local time, NHK said.

The blaze burned approximately 800 square meters of the area within the compound and destroyed a two-story wooden house completely, it added.

According to the police, there were no immediate reports of injuries or individuals who might not have escaped the area. The police are investigating the cause of the fire.

A man who lives near the fire scene said, "When I heard the sound of a fire engine's siren, I looked outside and saw the flames rising quite high from the Tanaka residence," NHK reported.