14 confirmed dead after Tues. quake in southwestern Japan

Title: Japan Earthquake Image ID: 26210203250682 Article: Firefighters and Self Defense Force members prepare their work at AEON Mall, which was damaged by an explosion following an earthquake, is seen in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Image: AP Photo/Hiro Komae national 14 confirmed dead after Tues. quake in southwestern Japan Today 07:10 am JST Today | 07:12 am JST 0 Comments KUMAMOTO, Japan Kumamoto Prefecture said Wednesday that 14 people have been confirmed dead after a magnitude 7.

1 earthquake struck the southwestern prefecture, with nearly 8,800 people staying in evacuation centers and shinkansen bullet train services mostly remaining suspended. Among the dead were three people at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima that was rocked by an explosion following the quake, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said at the government's emergency task force meeting Wednesday afternoon. Around 4,600 Self-Defense Forces personnel have been dispatched in response to the quake, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said, with 170 involved in rescue operations at a collapsed shopping center.

"There are still people who are waiting to be rescued and it is a race against time," Takaichi told reporters earlier that day. "We will mobilize our full strength to save as many people as possible." With the mercury rising above 35 C in the prefecture, weather authorities warned the public and personnel engaging in relief work about the risk of heat-related illness.

About 480 police personnel have also been dispatched from 11 prefectures. A Tokyo metropolitan police emergency rescue team specializing in disaster response flew by helicopter to join the search for missing people. Aeon Co.

President Akio Yoshida told reporters that three workers were dead, one was found unresponsive, and three remained unaccounted for after the explosion, which could have been caused by gas but is still under investigation. He apologized to the bereaved families, vowing to "provide maximum support" for those in need. He also said most people in the shopping mall had evacuated to the outdoor parking lots by around 5 p.

m. Tuesday before the blast hit the southcentral part of the complex at around 5:50 p.m.

, confirming all customers had safely evacuated. Over 4,000 people had been at the complex Tuesday, according to the company. Yoshida said the second floor of the blast-hit building sustained particularly severe damage.

A 46-year-old woman who lives in the neighborhood said, "I went shopping at Aeon yesterday at around noon. It's terrifying to think that I could have been caught up in what happened," adding that she was currently staying in a community center as her house was without electricity. Up to around 48,000 households in the prefecture had been without electricity at one time following the quake, while the number of households without power was reduced to about 34,000 as of 2 p.

m. Wednesday, according to the prefecture. The fatalities included a person who was rescued from a collapsed house in the city of Yatsushiro and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Five people died at Nippon Paper Industries Co.'s plant in Yatsushiro where a smokestack was badly damaged, the prefectural government said, with two injured and four missing at the plant. Services resumed on a section of the Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train line between Hakata and Chikugo Funagoya stations in nearby Fukuoka Prefecture, but other sections remained suspended, according to the operator.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled 11 and two flights, respectively, due to the quake. JR Kumamoto Station was crowded with people in the morning. Riko Furuta, 23, stood in line at a taxi rank, heading home after spending the night at her office.

"I couldn't sleep because the earthquakes continued throughout the night. It was more frightening than 10 years ago," she said. Some businesses in the region suspended operations in the wake of the temblor, while several thousand households were without electricity.

Honda Motor Co. halted its factory in the town of Ozu through Wednesday morning, while operations were also suspended at two plants in the prefecture of chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron Ltd. The quake also disrupted logistics, with Sagawa Express Co.

temporarily halting collection and delivery services in some areas. Japan Post Co. suspended services at post offices across the prefecture.

Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. briefly resumed operations at three plants in Fukuoka Prefecture after conducting safety checks. But it later announced it would halt them again from Wednesday evening through late Friday given logistical issues and the situation at suppliers.

Aftershocks continued on Wednesday following Tuesday's temblor, which registered the maximum of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Uki and Hikawa at 4:27 p.m. At that level, people cannot remain standing or move without crawling and may be thrown through the air, according to the Japan