Emergency Teams Search Collapsed Shopping Centre
At least 13 people have died after a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan.
Rescue teams continued searching for survivors on Wednesday. Thousands of homes remained without electricity across the affected region.
The earthquake damaged buildings, ruptured roads and disrupted transport services. Hospitals also reported receiving dozens of injured people.
Emergency workers focused on a partially collapsed Aeon shopping mall near Kumamoto. An apparent explosion damaged the building about one hour after Tuesday’s earthquake.
Eight people were pulled from the rubble. Two women in their twenties were found dead.
Between 20 and 30 mall employees were initially reported missing, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said rescue operations had become a race against time.
She said authorities would use every available resource to save people still trapped under debris.
Police, firefighters and around 170 military personnel searched parts of the mall where calls for help had been reported.
More than 4,500 soldiers were deployed across the earthquake zone to support rescue and recovery operations.
Authorities are investigating whether a gas explosion caused the mall collapse.
Rescue workers reported smelling gas inside the damaged building. However, officials said the exact cause remained under investigation.
The mall was one of the largest shopping centres in the prefecture. It contained around 200 stores.
Video footage showed one side of the building completely torn away. Steel beams were exposed, while debris covered the nearby parking area.
Mall operator Aeon said customers and employees were evacuated after the initial earthquake.
The company said the cause of the explosion remained unclear.
Thousands Evacuated as Power Outages Hit Hospitals
Around 260,000 people were instructed to move to evacuation centres across Kumamoto Prefecture.
Police received 386 emergency calls after the earthquake. The reports included collapsed buildings, damaged homes and people requiring rescue.
The earthquake’s epicentre was located around 20 kilometres south of Kumamoto City.
Kumamoto is the largest city in central Kyushu. It has a population of about 700,000 people.
More than 36,000 homes remained without electricity on Wednesday.
Temperatures were expected to reach around 34 degrees Celsius. Authorities warned residents about the growing risk of heat stroke.
Several hospitals struggled to continue operating during the power outages.
A hospital in Uki City, near the epicentre, said it could no longer function normally.
An official described conditions inside the hospital as similar to a field hospital.
Another medical facility suspended new admissions after receiving 86 injured people.
Three of those patients were reported to have serious injuries.
Seven people were also missing after a chimney collapsed at a Nippon Paper Industries factory.
Four other people were seriously injured in the factory incident, according to a local government official.
Hospitals across the affected region continued treating dozens of patients.
Several passengers travelling on high-speed trains were also injured during the earthquake.
Rail operators immediately suspended services following the powerful tremor.
Damaged roads created further problems for rescue teams and residents.
Large cracks appeared across major highways. Traffic disruption continued into Tuesday evening.
Authorities warned residents to remain alert for strong aftershocks during the coming week.
Officials also highlighted the risk of landslides in areas that experienced the strongest shaking.
Factories Close as Earthquake Disrupts Regional Economy
Several major companies suspended operations at factories located near the earthquake zone.
Sony, Tokyo Electron and Honda announced temporary shutdowns through Wednesday.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company evacuated workers from its local facility as a precaution.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker later said operations had started to resume on Tuesday night.
Aeon shares dropped by nearly two percent during early trading in Tokyo.
However, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained around 0.8 percent.
The earthquake also damaged historic buildings across the region.
Kumamoto Castle was among the structures affected by Tuesday’s tremors.
Several shrines suffered partial roof collapses. A 17th-century tea house was also damaged.
Kumamoto Prefecture experienced another devastating earthquake ten years ago.
That disaster killed 275 people and injured 2,739 others, according to official figures.
Thousands of buildings were damaged during the earlier earthquake.
Japan experiences frequent seismic activity because it sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
The region contains several active volcanoes, tectonic boundaries and oceanic trenches.
Japan accounts for around 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes measuring magnitude 6.0 or higher.
Rescue teams continued working through damaged buildings on Wednesday.
Authorities said saving trapped survivors remained the immediate priority.
