How to read Japan news.

'Japan news', not 'Japanese news'.  I have edited for length and added comments in [square brackets].  A tragedy inaccurately reported by 'sins of omission'.

Hotel where fire killed seven not up to code

Kyodo

HIROSHIMA — Despite failing inspections for decades, no changes were ever made at the hotel where a fire killed seven on Sunday [due to no penalties/pay-offs/no follow-up - choose one], the city of Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, admitted Tuesday... But after checking records and related legal provisions [they realized they could not cover their asses], the city now says structural changes to the hotel put it in violation of the law as early as 1987...

Meanwhile, the Hiroshima Prefectural Police have identified the seven killed, including four Chinese residents of the prefecture [this is a 'love hotel' so that means they were yakuza, or 'snakehead' run prostitutes for 'delivery health'], and three others seriously injured. However, their identities have not been released to protect their privacy [avoid yakuza reprisals, or because someone was in the hotel they are covering up for], as the Hotel Prince was a love hotel.

It went through a major renovation in 1974 [but none since - 'love hotels' are a dying business, as are all cities but Tokyo]... The woman who ran the hotel reportedly told city officials she couldn't afford to make recommended changes to the facility [she's now fucked, because the yakuza money behind her won't take the fall - on the other hand no claims may be filed by injured parties, who have something to hide, much less the deceased foreign prostitutes, who nobody in Japan gives a shit about]. Local real estate sources said the owner had apparently mulled selling the hotel [she should have burned it without people in it!]...

 

According to investigators, the windows of the rooms were covered with plywood [typical Japanese 'love hotel' 'privacy' architecture]...