Fire damages Bridgestone tire plant in Japan

Tosu, Japan – A fire has damaged buildings and equipment at Bridgestone's Tosu tire plant in Saga prefecture, Japan, the tire maker has announced.

The blaze broke out at around 7:30pm 8 Nov in the factory's vulcanisation process and was extinguished nearly four hours later, Bridgestone said in a 9 Nov statement.

Following the fire 148 employees were evacuated and no injuries were reported.

According to Bridgestone, parts of the factory buildings and production equipment were damaged in the incident.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the local fire department and police.

According to Bridgestone's website, the Tosu plant began operations in July 1970 and has a production capacity of 18,800 tires per day.

The facility manufactures passenger car and light truck radial tires, specialising in premium, ultra-low-profile and high-performance products, including Potenza and Regno tires and run-flat tires.

The Tosu site covers 182,000 sq.m. and employs 789 people as of December 2025.

Bridgestone did not provide details of any production disruption or an expected timetable for resuming normal operations.