Japan Responds for First Time to Mongolian Grassland Fire

Tokyo/Ulaanbaatar (ANTARA) – The Japanese government said on Monday that it was taking seriously a major grassland fire in Mongolia earlier this month linked to activities by a subsidiary of a Japanese telecommunications company, local media reported.

“We express our deepest sympathies to the people of Mongolia,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference in Tokyo, adding that Japan would maintain close communication with Mongolia and co-operate in efforts to restore the damaged area.

The fire broke out on 8 October in the Numrug Strictly Protected Area in Dornod Province, eastern Mongolia. It was fully extinguished on 16 October after eight days of round-the-clock operations by Mongolian emergency teams.

On 20 October, Japanese telecommunications giant KDDI acknowledged that the fire was linked to activities by its Mongolian subsidiary, Mobicom, in which senior Japanese executives also took part.

Preliminary data released by Mongolia’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change show that the fire scorched about 530,000 hectares, including around 470,000 hectares within the Numrug Strictly Protected Area—79.8 per cent of the protected area’s total landmass.

Experts said the fire may have affected not only grasslands but also riverbanks, wetlands and other ecosystems. The broader environmental impact will require a comprehensive assessment.