Kanagawa police have arrested a man on suspicion of setting fire to a Japanese-style inn in the Hakone hot springs resort in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The 52-year-old man who used to work at the inn was taken into custody on February 26 over suspicious fires that occurred at the facility on February 11.

A wooden annex building of the inn burned down, and part of its new building was damaged in the early morning fires.

Police were investigating the case on suspicion of arson as the inn was not in operation at the time and the two fires appear to have started from different sources.

The inn suspended business after a suspicious fire in May 2024 when the lodging facility's main building was completely destroyed and two employees sustained injuries.

Police are also investigating the suspect's links to the earlier fire as the inn had told him shortly before the incident that he was being dismissed from his position.

Officials said the suspect has remained silent to police questioning.