A building in Shibuya burns in this TV image.

2 bodies found after explosion, fire destroy building in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward

Wednesday 12th November, 11:50 PM JST

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franknbeans at 06:03 PM JST - 12th November

My wife called me today and said she could see smoke from her office in Shinjuku.

Scary stuff in these day and times.
Proffessor at 06:26 PM JST - 12th November

angelheart, it says in the Jingumae area.
maryhinge at 06:50 PM JST - 12th November

Not another spa then? There are a lot of S&M places around there....
Apsara at 07:08 PM JST - 12th November

S&M places in Jingumae? I used to walk from Gaienmae station to Sendagaya station, which is right through the middle of Jingumae, several times a week, and I don't remember S&M places being a feature of the area. The company is an event planner.
Apsara at 07:13 PM JST - 12th November

There was just a report on NHK- the three surviving family members were pretty badly burned.
Freespeech at 07:23 PM JST - 12th November

Police are investigating the possibility that the blast was a result of the explosives being mishandled.

No no no, a J-technician never mishandles ! It is just a case of "sho ga nai" (translation of "an act of God").

More seriously : handling explosive materials is permitted by J-laws in facilities located in dense urban areas ?
GW at 08:11 PM JST - 12th November

freespeech

I was just thinking the same thing, an explosives factory in the city, in a residential area, stupid stupid stupid, does Jpn even have any bylaws? I always thought it was daft having tiny "factories" nestled in residential areas, I remember looking for a places ages ago & across the street was one of these stupid little shops & the THUMP THUMP of some press pound out crap I just said to the real estate skip this place, I didnt even look.
Disillusioned at 08:26 PM JST - 12th November
Police are investigating the possibility that the blast was a result of the explosives being mishandled.

Wow! Deductive powers at their best! Would explosives explode if they were not mishandled?
- Why the heck was this factory in a residential area? I remember hearing about a blast at a fireworks factory in Mexico four or five years ago that killed a hundred people. This one seems very lucky not have had a similar death toll.
timorborder at 08:40 PM JST - 12th November

Sounds like flash burns. Don't understand the logic of being able to keep and mix explosive substances in large amounts in a densely populated urban area.
jipster at 09:51 PM JST - 12th November

In the article it says they didn't have permission to produce or deal with explosives ..so there isn't an issue of 'being able' to keep and mix explosives in populated areas

sho ga nai means an act of god!?..more like it couldnt be helped..which it obviously could have been
Molenir at 01:14 AM JST - 13th November

Lots of places with the potential to explode are in residential areas. Partially because the residential areas grow up around them, other times, because the danger normally is so insignificant. Don't know which this is. I've never heard about a movie explosives production company blowing up before. Still as others said, seems odd to put something like this in a residential area.
ca1ic0cat at 02:54 AM JST - 13th November

Since the article says that they didn't have permission to be working with explosives at that site I suppose there are zoning laws in place. Unfortunately zoning laws usually aren't enforced unless the neighbors complain as the building code people can't be everywhere and don't tend to make surprise inspections.

Explosives can spontaneously detonate, especially if they are old. The chemicals will start to break down and become unstable. This was what caused the explosion on the battleship "Iowa" back in the 1980s. The gunpowder being used was left over from WWII and didn't react kindly to being rammed into the barrel of the gun.

The other nasty thing about explosions is that the burns aren't the worst part. The shock wave will turn your internal organs to jelly. If it doesn't kill you right away you're going to suffer a lot. I hope the others who were in the area recover their health.
fatloser at 06:48 AM JST - 13th November

I say it was MURDER!! The old guy was tired of listening to his mother and sister-in law sounding off SO he killed them!!
mindovermatter at 08:40 AM JST - 13th November

he company run by Yokoyama does not have the necessary permission for production of explosives from the Tokyo governor

Here you go JN Police...

Instead of spending hours and hours stopping salarymen & obasan's and checking their bicycle registration, you can actually do a real job...

How about checking for Idiots like these people doing REAL unlawful stuff that can actually hurt someone....
Harry_Gatto at 10:15 AM JST - 13th November

Its quite clear that they were operating their business illegally but, who are their customers and are they partially responsible for this by not checking the credentials of their suppliers?