Major Japan quake traps people inside Kumamoto shopping mall, factory

An Aeon mall in Japan's Kumamoto prefecture was damaged in an earthquake on July 28, with authorities saying many people could be trapped inside. © KyodoAKANE OKUTSUJuly 28, 2026 17:05 JSTUpdated on July 29, 2026 04:23 JSTTOKYO -- More than two dozen people may be trapped inside a mall in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake triggered an explosion and caused part of the building to collapse Tuesday afternoon.

Four people have been rescued from the shopping center, all of whom were conscious, while 10 people were unaccounted for. Police sources said employees were among the 20-30 people who may still be inside the complex.The explosion occurred at Aeon Mall Kumamoto in the town of Kashima after customers had been evacuated, major Japanese retailer Aeon reported.

Aeon said it was investigating the cause of the explosion. A senior government official said a gas leak may have caused the blast.Elsewhere, 11 people were trapped after a smokestack collapsed at Nippon Paper Industries' mill in the city of Yatsushiro, authorities said.

Two people have been rescued in critical condition, while 9 were missing.The earthquake struck around 4:27 p.m.

, at a depth of about 16 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported. It registered the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan's seismic scale in the city of Uki and the town of Hikawa. Shaking of such intensity can tilt or topple buildings with low seismic resistance.

Strong aftershocks continued for hours afterward, with four quakes measuring lower 5 or above recorded by 8 p.m.According to police and other authorities, Kumamoto prefectural police had confirmed 12 cases of collapsed homes and four cases in which people were trapped inside houses.

Eight fires had broken out.The prefecture is home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s production hub on the island of Kyushu.

The seismic intensity reached upper 5 in Kikuyo, the site of TSMC's chip factory. "The intensity recorded at TSMC's JASM fab located in Kumamoto, Japan, reached the required level for evacuation. As personnel safety is our top priority, the site promptly evacuated personnel as a precaution," a TSMC spokesperson told Nikkei Asia.

JASM's construction site was unaffected, but some work was suspended as a precaution against the risk of aftershocks, the spokesperson said.Sony Group and Fujifilm also evacuated their plants in the town of Kikuyo.The meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas, off Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Saga and Nagasaki prefectures, but lifted it around 6 p.

m.Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo that the government had convened an emergency team and was looking to assess the damage and take disaster response measures. She urged residents to stay away from the coast and remain alert for more strong quakes."

We already hear that there are injuries, and there are power outages and fires in some areas," she said. "Please take precautions, as there is a possibility of earthquakes of similar scale for about a week."Kumamoto was devastated by a series of earthquakes in 2016 that resulted in nearly 300 deaths and caused extensive damage to infrastructure.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters earlier in Tokyo that nuclear power stations in the area were unaffected by the earthquake. The runway at Aso Kumamoto Airport in the prefecture was closed as of 4:40 p.m.

The airport operates domestic flights to cities like Osaka and Tokyo, as well as international flights to Taiwan and South Korea.Railway operator JR Kyushu said it suspended service on all its lines, including shinkansen bullet trains and local routes. TV footage showed buildings in various places on fire and cracks in roads.

A freight train derailed.According to the website of Kyushu Electric Power Transmission & Distribution, a subsidiary of Kyushu Electric Power, 48,040 households in the prefecture were affected by outages as of 6:10 p.m.

Kyodo News reported that part of the stone wall at Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination, had collapsed. No visitors were injured, and they were safely evacuated, it said.Additional reporting by Mayuko Kurihara, Cheng Ting-Fang and Tsubasa Suruga and Yuta Shimasaki TOKYO -- More than two dozen people may be trapped inside a mall in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto after a magnitude-7.

1 earthquake triggered an explosion and caused part of the building to collapse Tuesday afternoon.Four people have been rescued from the shopping center, all of whom were conscious, while 10 people were unaccounted for. Police sources said employees were among the 20-30 people who may still be inside the complex.

The explosion occurred at Aeon Mall Kumamoto in the town of Kashima after customers had been evacuated, major Japanese retailer Aeon reported. Aeon said it was investigating the cause of the explosion. A senior government official said a gas leak may have caused the blast.

Elsewhere, 11 pe