TOKYO, Dec 22; A fire whipped by high winds has spread to at least 140 buildings in a small Japanese city on the Japan Sea coast.
The fire department says the blaze started at a restaurant in Itoigawa city Thursday morning. By mid-afternoon, 140 houses and other buildings had caught fire, and the fire is still spreading.
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Japanese media say two people have minor injuries.
Authorities have issued an evacuation advisory for 273 households.
Itoigawa is in Niigata prefecture, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest of Tokyo.
