Rescue workers conduct a search operation at the damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto Prefecture, in Kashima Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 30, 2026. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
KUMAMOTO, Japan—The death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit southwestern Japan earlier this week rose to 34 on Friday from 25 previously, the Kumamoto prefecture government said in a statement.
A further six people have been seriously injured by the earthquake that struck late on Tuesday, leading to buildings collapsing, roads rupturing and supply chains getting snarled.
Nearly half of those killed were caught up in two major incidents: Nippon Paper Industries’ paper mill, which suffered major structural damage, and Aeon’s shopping mall, where a possible gas explosion occurred.
By Tim Kelly and Satoshi Sugiyama
