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In just the first five months of 2026, nine major shrines and temples have burned across Japan.
・January 15: Suga Shrine, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
・February 7: Horenji, Matsuyama, Ehime
・February 13: Hottoji, Kuma Highland, Ehime — 1 person died
・February 20: Shorinji, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi — 5 people died
・April 24: Renshoji, Toyama City, Toyama
・April 27: Uruwashitsune Shrine, Nabari, Mie
・May 6: Furumachi Atago Shrine, Niigata City, Niigata
・May 16: Daishoji, Takaoka, Toyama
・May 20: Reikaido at Itsukushima Shrine, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima (World Heritage site)
These are not ordinary fires.
Many of these sacred places had stood for hundreds — some over a thousand — years.
I’m not a politician.
I’m not an activist.
I’m just an ordinary Japanese who loves this country.
Every time I see another irreplaceable piece of our history and culture go up in flames, I feel a quiet fear.
Japan was supposed to be the one place where this kind of thing almost never happened.
When did our temples and shrines start burning one after another?
I was very British today. I made a decision to be more assertive, and one of the first things I did after making that decision was to enter a lift and apologise for pressing the button I needed.