A fire at a Tokyo condominium unit occupied by a Japanese lawmaker has killed two people. The victims are believed to be family members of the politician.

The fire broke out on the sixth floor of the condominium in central Tokyo shortly after 7:00 p.m. Wednesday. The blaze was put out about eight and a half hours later.

The gutted unit was the residence of Upper House member Inoguchi Kuniko of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, her husband and their two daughters.

The lawmaker and the younger daughter were not at home at the time of the fire. Her husband, Inoguchi Takashi, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and the older daughter remain unaccounted for.

Investigative sources say footage from the condo's surveillance camera shows Takashi and the older daughter entering the building separately at around 5:00 p.m. They are believed to have been at home when the fire erupted.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.