The day's dominant story was the forest fire in Ōtsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture, which by evening had become the second largest since the Heisei era, with burned area exceeding 1,000 hectares and evacuation orders covering a quarter of residents. Editors tracked the fire's spread throughout the day, with NHK providing repeated helicopter footage. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz crisis escalated: Trump ordered the sinking of mine-laying vessels, and Iran reportedly attacked five commercial ships. Japan announced it would release oil reserves from May 1 and mulled sending minesweepers. The Nikkei hit a record closing high of 59,716 yen, driven by ceasefire hopes and AI semiconductor buying. Other notable stories included Mexico's pledge to export 1 million barrels of crude to Japan, the MEXT investigation into the Henoko boat capsizing, and the government's recommendation to block MBK's takeover of Makino on security grounds.
