Rain appears to have halted the spread of Japan's worst wildfire in more than half a century, officials said Thursday, as residents expressed relief the smoke was gone.

Japan partially lifted wildfire evacuation orders on Friday after rain helped stop the country's worst blaze in more than half a century from spreading. City official Shinichi Matsukawa told reporters that an evacuation order for nearly 1,

Japan partially lifted wildfire evacuation orders on Friday after rain helped stop the country's worst blaze in more than half a century from spreading. The fire had raged in the mountains around the city of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture for over a week, killing one person and forcing more than 4,200 residents to flee their homes.

Unseasonable drier weather may be making the country more vulnerable to fires by leaving forests parched. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Japan battled its worst wildfire in half a century Wednesday in a region hit by record-low rainfall, as wet weather gave hope for some relief.- Dry weather - Japan endured its hottest summer on record last year,

The largest wildfire the island has seen in more than 30 years is raging in north-eastern Japan. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated to safety from the flames.