Firefighters were Tuesday battling Japan's worst wildfire in half a century, which has left one dead and forced the evacuation of nearly 4,000 local residents.

Wet weather looked poised to offer relief Wednesday as Japan battled its worst wildfire in half a century in a northern region hit by record-low rainfall. Ofunato had just 2.5 millimetres (0.1 inches) of rainfall in February -- breaking the previous record low for the month of 4.

It has damaged dozens of homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate in the north eastern coastal city of Ofunato.