Japan earthquake latest: Two dead in shopping centre explosion in Kumamoto after 6.8 tremor

Japan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi said 13 people have died after a powerful earthquake and subsequent tremors rocked the Kyushu region.

Kyodo News said a hospital in the city of Yatsushiro took in about 40 people with injuries and about 50 others were taken to a hospital in Kumamoto city.

“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” Takaichi said. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”

Takaichi offered her condolences to the victims and sympathy to their relatives, while urging those affected by the quake to take care of themselves under the hot weather.

Around 3,600 military personnel were sent to Kumamoto yesterday to help emergency service efforts, which continued through the night.

It comes as workers urgently try to rescue the dozens of people who thought to be trapped in the Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima Town.

Prime minister Sanae Takaichi said: “The government will work tirelessly through the night to swiftly assess the overall damage situation and carry out emergency disaster response measures, starting with the rescue and lifesaving of those affected.

“At the same time, we will ensure the reliable delivery of essential supplies such as food and water, as well as simple air conditioners and power vehicles for heatstroke prevention, utilising push-type support where appropriate, and strive to secure a safe and suitable evacuation environment.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the FCDO has warned travellers: “A large earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on 28 July 2026. There are reports of disruption to air and rail services.

“Train lines in Kyushu have been suspended and flights to and from Kumamoto airport have been disrupted. Earthquake aftershocks may also continue.”

General FCDO safety advice for Japan warns that the country sits “in a major earthquake zone”.

Travellers are told to “take note of instructions in hotel rooms and at train stations and follow the advice of local authorities” in the event of a disaster.

Per FlightRadar24, hundreds of flights to and from Japan are currently delayed following the earthquake, including at Kumamoto airport and Fukuoka airport on the island of Kyushu.

The explosion at Aeon shopping centre has killed at least two people, according to local media.

Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that two women in their 20s died, while five others were injured in the disaster.

This follows an earlier report from Kumamoto City’s Disaster Management Division, which said that 10 people were missing.

Residents of Kumamoto has been told not to drink the tap water.

The government said cloudy water had been seen in parts of the city and it was inspecting water supply facilities.

Electricity was cut to about 48,300 households in Kumamoto Prefecture following the powerful earthquake, according to Kyushu Electric Power.

Japan was rocked by a powerful 6.8 earthquake today, which is thought to have killed several people.

Residents in Kumamoto said the shake reminded them of the 2016 disaster that left 278 people dead across the prefecture and surrounding areas.

Around 20 per cent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater take place in Japan and up to 2,000 quakes are felt by people each year.

These are some of the largest earthquakes that have struck Japan in the last 15 years:

• On March 16, 2022, a magnitude-7.4 earthquake jolted the coast off Fukushima again, leaving three dead, more than 200 injured and ​reviving memories of the quake and tsunami that crippled the ​Pacific coast ⁠region just over a decade earlier.

• On February 13, 2021, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Fukushima in eastern Japan, injuring dozens of people and ​triggering widespread power outages ​in Greater Tokyo.

• On September 6, 2018, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake ‌paralysed ⁠Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, killing more than 40 people, triggering landslides and knocking out power to its 5.3 million residents.

• On June 18, ​2018, a magnitude-6.1 earthquake in Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest metropolis, killed four people, injured hundreds ​more and halted factory lines in an industrial area.

• On ​April 16, 2016, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto, the scene of Tuesday’s temblor, killing more than 270 people, including some caught in landslides and heavy rain in the aftermath.

• On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami ⁠struck northeast Japan, killing nearly 20,000 people and causing a meltdown at the ​Fukushima nuclear power plant, leading to the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

The explosion at Aeon Mall shopping centre is believed to have been triggered by a gas leak at the building, according to Japan’s NHK national television.

Tuesday’s earthquake collapsed the second floor of the Aeon Mall shopping centre and has trapped an unknown number of people there.

Emergency services have pulled four people out with injuries, while 10 others were unaccounted for, the Kumamoto prefectural emergency response team said.

It said the extent of the damage was still being investigated as the search and rescue effort continued.