Japan rescue efforts continue after quake as aftershocks top 100 and mall search goes on
Japan's rescue operation continued on Wednesday after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the country's south-western Kyushu region and was followed by more than 100 aftershocks. At least 13 people have been reported dead, and officials said some others were in cardiopulmonary arrest, a term often used in Japan before deaths are formally confirmed. Crews were still searching collapsed buildings in Kumamoto prefecture, including a paper factory and a shopping mall, where three people remained unaccounted for.
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The Japan Meteorological Agency warned residents to stay alert for more strong earthquakes over the next week, particularly in the next two to three days, with the possibility of a maximum seismic intensity of 7. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the situation was "truly a race against time" as rescuers worked in searing heat to reach people trapped under rubble. Thousands of residents were in evacuation centres and many homes were without power, adding to the strain on local authorities and emergency services.
The search at Aeon Mall in Kashima town remained a major focus, after part of the second floor collapsed and an explosion was reported in the hour after the quake. Company president Akio Yoshida said three people who worked in the mall were still missing, while three others were killed in the blast and four were taken to hospital. He also said one person had been rescued from a restroom, and that the mall employed about 2,700 people.
In Yatsushiro City, officials said two people were found to have no signs of life at a factory and nine others were unaccounted for. The disaster has highlighted the vulnerability of commercial and industrial sites in a region already exposed to seismic risk. It has also raised questions about how quickly rescue teams can reach people when aftershocks continue and damaged structures remain unstable.
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The scale of the response, with multiple sites affected across Kumamoto prefecture, shows how a single earthquake can quickly become a wider emergency involving evacuation centres, power cuts and large-scale search operations. Japan has long faced major earthquake risk because of its location on active tectonic boundaries, and authorities regularly warn that strong aftershocks can follow a major tremor. In this case, the warnings have been sharpened by the number of aftershocks already recorded and by the continuing search for missing workers at the mall and factory.
The incident also matters because it involves both civilian infrastructure and the safety of large numbers of employees and shoppers in a densely used commercial area. What remains unclear is the final death toll, the full number of missing people and the extent of structural damage at the affected sites. It is also not yet clear how long power outages and evacuations will continue, or whether further strong earthquakes will follow in the coming days.
Rescue teams are expected to keep searching while officials assess the wider impact of the quake and the safety of damaged buildings.
Japan entered a second day of search and rescue operations on Wednesday after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern Japan and was followed about an hour later by a suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall near Kumamoto. The blast partially collapsed the Aeon shopping mall and left at least 13 people dead, with others still missing as crews searched through debris. Rescue teams continued working at the mall and at other damaged sites across the region.
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Officials said eight people were pulled from the rubble at the mall, but three later died, while four employees remained unaccounted for after checks of the company's roughly 2,700 staff. Seven more people were missing after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory. Authorities said hospitals were treating dozens of injured people, and the prime minister described the rescue effort as a race against time, saying emergency teams were using every available resource to reach those trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
The scale of the response underlined the seriousness of the disaster. Around 4,500 soldiers, firefighters and police officers were deployed across the quake-hit region, with about 170 troops focused on rescue operations at the mall. Police initially kept rescue teams away from the wreckage because of fears that aftershocks could trigger further collapse, and more than 100 aftershocks were recorded in Kumamoto by the end of Tuesday.
Authorities were also investigating whether a gas leak triggered the explosion, after rescue workers reported smelling gas inside the building. The incident matters because it turned a major earthquake into a wider emergency involving structural collapse, possible gas infrastructure failure and large-scale rescue operations. The mall used liquefied petroleum gas, which is supplied through large canisters rather than pipelines, and officials said both piped gas and LPG systems are equipped with automatic shut-off mechanisms.
The event also raised immediate concerns about the safety of crowded commercial buildings and industrial sites in a region already hit by severe seismic activity. The disaster affected more than one location in Kumamoto and nearby areas, with injuries also reported at hospitals in Kagoshima and Yatsushiro. The provincial government in Kumamoto said around 300,000 people were told to leave their homes and seek shelter, while damage was also reported to roads, bridges, buildings, fires and power cuts.
The prime minister said there had been no irregularities at nuclear power plants in the region, easing one immediate concern after the quake. What remains unclear is the full number of missing people and whether all those feared trapped have been accounted for. It is also not yet clear how much structural damage the mall and the factory sustained, or how long evacuations and power disruptions will continue.
Rescue teams are expected to keep searching damaged buildings as officials assess the wider impact of the quake and the suspected explosion.
Japan entered a second day of search and rescue operations on Wednesday after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto in the country's south. The tremor caused widespread destruction, including damage to the Aeon Mall in Kashima, where part of the second floor collapsed and an explosion followed. Authorities said the quake killed 13 people and left several others missing, while rescue teams continued to search through debris overnight.
Officials said firefighters, police officers and members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces worked through the night at the mall and other damaged sites. Drone footage released by the Ministry of Defense showed the extent of the destruction inside the shopping complex, with twisted metal and rubble visible across the structure. In Yatsushiro, workers were reported trapped under debris at a factory, and hospitals in Kagoshima and Yatsushiro received dozens of injured people.
The disaster also caused wider disruption across the region. According to the provincial government in Kumamoto, around 300,000 people were told to leave their homes and seek shelter. Damage was also reported to roads, bridges and buildings, along with fires and power cuts in some areas.
The prime minister said there had been no irregularities at nuclear power plants in the region, easing one immediate concern after the quake. The scale of the response reflects the seriousness of the event and the difficulty of working in multiple damaged locations at once. The Aeon Mall became one of the main focus points because of the collapse, the reported explosion and the possibility that people remained trapped inside.
The situation also highlights how a major earthquake can quickly turn into a broader emergency involving transport, utilities, hospitals and evacuation centres. The rows indicate that the quake affected more than one city in Kumamoto and nearby prefectures, with injuries also reported in Kagoshima. They also show that the emergency response involved both civilian and military personnel, underlining the national significance of the disaster.
The mention of no problems at nuclear plants is notable because Japan remains highly sensitive to any earthquake-related risk to critical infrastructure. What remains unclear is the full number of missing people and whether all those feared trapped have been accounted for. It is also not yet clear how much structural damage the mall and the factory sustained, or how long evacuations and power disruptions will continue.
Rescue teams are expected to keep searching damaged buildings as officials assess the wider impact of the quake.
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