Live images from the scene show emergency services trying to extinguish the fire, which broke out at a house near a nursery school.
The school’s headteacher said no one at the school was injured in the incident.
Minister of Defence Itsunori Onodera told local media the Ground Self Defence Force helicopter, built by Boeing, came down in Saga prefecture during a training exercise.
Officials at the scene are assessing injuries.
The crash comes as following a series of incidents involving military helicopters in Japan, including a number of emergency landings and parts falling from aircraft operated by the US Marines in the island of Okinawa.
More to follow…