Gas leaked from Aeon Castle Tatsumidai in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, all customers and employees were evacuated and the business was suspended.

(Central News Agency, Chiba Prefecture, comprehensive foreign news report on the 4th) At around 9:10 a.m. today, Japan time, a gas leak occurred at the "AEON Town Tatsumidai" in Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture. After the store received the notice, all customers and employees have been evacuated and the store is currently closed.

Japan's TV Asahi and "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" reported that the local police and fire department stated that at around 9:10 a.m., a mall employee called 119 to report the incident, saying that "gas was spurting out from a gas cylinder behind the building."

The local police and fire department pointed out that the gas cylinder installed outside the mall was suspected of leaking liquefied petroleum gas. Customers and employees in the store were evacuated immediately, and the mall was suspended. There has been no news of casualties.

The police said that traffic control was implemented on the road in front of the store, but the authorities did not ask surrounding residents to evacuate.

LPIO, the company responsible for managing gas, stated on its official website that it is currently cutting off the gas supply, removing gas containers, and deeply apologizes for "the worry and inconvenience caused to nearby residents and passers-by."

The Chiba Prefecture Industrial Security Division said the container and safety valve containing the liquefied petroleum gas may have aged.

A facility owned by Japan's AEON also suffered an accident during the Kumamoto earthquake in July this year. An explosion occurred at "AEON MALL Kumamoto", killing seven people including employees. The government and other units are currently investigating. The accident may have been caused by damage to the pipelines in the building, which caused the leakage of liquefied petroleum gas and then caught fire and caused an explosion.