Annual number of wildfires in Japan
Japan: Annual number of wildfires was 54 wildfires in 2026. ▲ Rising
Annual number of wildfires in Japan, 2012–2026
Source: Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in wildfires.
Analysis
Japan recorded 54 wildfires for annual number of wildfires in 2026.
That represents a change of down 8.5% on the previous year and up 74.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, annual number of wildfires in Japan peaked at 59 wildfires in 2025 and was at its lowest, 20 wildfires, in 2012.
That places Japan 106th out of 248 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Annual number of wildfires in Japan, year by year
| Year | wildfires | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 20 wildfires | — |
| 2013 | 34 wildfires | +70.0% |
| 2014 | 41 wildfires | +20.6% |
| 2015 | 49 wildfires | +19.5% |
| 2016 | 31 wildfires | -36.7% |
| 2017 | 26 wildfires | -16.1% |
| 2018 | 52 wildfires | +100.0% |
| 2019 | 51 wildfires | -1.9% |
| 2020 | 48 wildfires | -5.9% |
| 2021 | 29 wildfires | -39.6% |
| 2022 | 52 wildfires | +79.3% |
| 2023 | 42 wildfires | -19.2% |
| 2024 | 35 wildfires | -16.7% |
| 2025 | 59 wildfires | +68.6% |
| 2026 | 54 wildfires | -8.5% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 54 wildfires is above the median for high income countries, which is 1 wildfires, 54.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Japan's 54 wildfires is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12 wildfires, 4.5× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 38 wildfires | 20 wildfires | 52 wildfires | 8 |
| 2020s | 45.57 wildfires | 29 wildfires | 59 wildfires | 7 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.981 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3629 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.74 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.98 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is annual number of wildfires in Japan?
- Annual number of wildfires in Japan was 54 wildfires in 2026, according to Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual number of wildfires recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 59 wildfires in 2025.
- What is the lowest annual number of wildfires recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 20 wildfires in 2012.
- How does Japan rank for annual number of wildfires?
- Japan ranks 106th out of 248 countries with data for 2026.
- Is annual number of wildfires rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 74.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from Global Wildfire Information System (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of wildfires. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of wildfires. The 2026 data is incomplete and was last updated 18 September 2026.