YOKOHAMA —

An early Sunday morning fire gutted a former residence of Shigeru Yoshida, who was Japan’s prime minister when the country signed a peace treaty with the Allied nations in 1951, in Kanagawa Prefecture, local police said, adding they suspect a short circuit was its cause.
 
The two-story wooden home, which had been opened occasionally for sightseeing tours as a historical landmark, was gutted early Sunday in the seaside city of Oiso, in Kanagawa prefecture southwest of Tokyo, police said.
 
Yoshida is the grandfather of Prime Minister Taro Aso, who has seen his popularity plummet as a global recession batters the economy, fueling discontent among voters.
 
Yoshida served as prime minister in the late 1940s and ‘50s, steering Japan onto a path of economic growth and peace under a political and defensive alliance with the U.S., still the nation’s most important ally.
 
Police said a security guard spotted smoke from the home’s second floor and called the fire department. The cause of the fire was under investigation, they said.
 
Kyodo news agency, citing police officials, reported that an alarm went off indicating a short circuit problem. Kanagawa police declined comment on the report.
 
The home has a Japanese-style garden with sculpted trees and bushes, and a traditional-style gate with a curving roof. It also has old-style “tatami” floors and folding screens, as well as Japan’s version of the 20th Century Western-style living room.
 
The house is now owned by major train company, Seibu Railway Co. It served as a place for historical meeting places for politicians. As a child, Aso also spent some time in the house. In 1979, then-Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira met there with then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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7 Comments

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  tonywang at 05:31 PM JST - 22nd March

  'short circuit'...yeah right

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  kwatt at 06:10 PM JST - 22nd March

  Security company said that fire alarm indicated short circuit.

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  some14some at 07:10 PM JST - 22nd March

  Historical & cultural properties becoming target of 'short circuit', right(?)

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  sk4ek at 08:46 PM JST - 22nd March

  Second historical residence in Kanagawa to burn down in as many weeks...

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  plasticmonkey at 07:47 AM JST - 23rd March

  With all these cases of historic buildings mysteriously burning down, I'd like to see some follow-up stories. What happens to the land a year after? Condo anyone?

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  seesaw at 11:10 AM JST - 23rd March

  Historical site and yet no proper electrical maintenance of the place?

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  Samuraiiki at 11:33 AM JST - 23rd March

  Trying to get rid of anything related to their defeat. Losers!

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