Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to bring in emergency legislation in order to stop the early release of hundreds of prisoners.

Burnham announced last week that he was pausing the scheme, which would have seen about 700 prisoners freed in the first phase in September, following a backlash from survivors and victims.

But the Conservatives say the government’s review will not stop offenders being released.

The scheme was part of a bid to stop unprecedented overcrowding, which Labour says was caused by Conservative governments failing to build new prisons.

A Labour spokesperson said: “It’s this government that is fixing the Tories’ mess.”

On Tuesday, Burnham said: “It is a challenging situation and we shouldn’t actually be in this position as a country, but we have to deal with the reality of where we are.

“But I will do anything I can to minimise risk to the public and that is why I am looking again and why I have put the release plan for September on hold and we’ll make further statements on this in due course.”

Early release was used by the Conservative government, external in 2023 because of prison overcrowding, first for 18 and then 70 days, and 10,000 prisoners had been released early by June 2024 – before Labour came to power.

When Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street in July 2024, there were fewer than 100 spare prison places across the adult male estate, which is what prompted the Sentencing Act to release another 6,000 prisoners early from September.

While the act already excludes some of the most serious and dangerous offenders, such as murderers serving life sentences or those on extended sentences, the eligibility for early release is based on the length of fixed sentence, external, rather than the type of offence.

That means some criminals convicted of serious sexual and violent offences who have a fixed release date will leave prison earlier than they had expected – although subject to monitoring and risk of recall to prison.

Badenoch is calling on Burnham to fast-track legislation to keep serious offenders behind bars.

Speaking at a press conference alongside victims who could be impacted by the changes, the Conservative leader said: “It’s quite clear that the prime minister sees that this is a problem, but I don’t think he knows what to do about it.”

She said she was concerned the pause would be “yet another thing where there will be warm words and nothing happens”.

Without emergency legislation, Badenoch says dangerous offenders will start to be released the day after MPs return to Parliament after the summer recess on Tuesday 1 September.

She is calling on Burnham to revoke legislation coming into effect on 2 September and if necessary recall Parliament to ensure the worst violent and sexual offenders are exempted from early release.

Asked if the problem of prison overcrowding was a failing of the last Conservative government, she said the “crisis” had been “long time coming”.

“We did something, it wasn’t enough, I’m sorry about that,” she said, adding: “I can’t fix the past, what I can do is come up with solutions.”

She said that to solve the problem of prison overcrowding in the long-run, the public needed to accept that some prisons would have to be built in their communities.

She also urged the government to consider renting prison places overseas.

Successive UK governments have explored the idea of sending prisoners to Estonia, however in 2025 the BBC was told that Conservative and Labour ministers had decided the plans would be too expensive.

Earlier this month, the Conservative front bench sought to put pressure on the government to rethink the earlier release plans, saying that it would mean some rapists would leave prison sooner than expected.

The government stood by the plan, saying it was a political choice to manage offenders on strict conditions in the community, rather than see the collapse of the system, leaving sex offenders and others to act with impunity.

Burnham’s decision to pause the scheme came after criticism from the family of Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper, who was killed in Berkshire in 2019 when he was dragged by a car down a country road by three teenagers.

Two of the killers of PC Harper, who were both sentenced to 13 years in prison, would have benefited from the scheme from June 2027, when the longest fixed sentences would have been added.

PC Harper’s widow Lissie called the plans “deplorable” and said politicians were “making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences” for the families of victims.

Defending the review of the Sentencing Act that has been announced by Burnham, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Conservatives have some nerve.

“During their 14 years in office, they shut 23 prisons, created just 482 jail places, and granted early release to 10,000 prisoners – leaving the criminal justice system teetering on verge of collapse.

“It’s this government that is fixing the Tories’ mess. We have already delivered over 3,000 prison places and we’re investing billions to deliver thousands more.”

Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller MP said: “The reality is that in a properly functioning justice system, no victim or loved ones should ever be told that their perpetrator is being released earlier than expected.

“Unfortunately, the Conservatives left our prisons on the brink of collapse, creating a capacity crisis that required emergency action to keep the system functioning and the public safe.

“Now that the government claims to have increased prison capacity, there is a clear opportunity for Burnham to correct some of the mistakes made by his predecessors with this scheme.”

Reform UK’s Home Affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf said the “disastrous” policy had been introduced by the Tories, and Badenoch had in 2024 supported efforts to expand it.

“It’s clear that only one party has consistently opposed early release and proposed strong law and order reforms to ensure hardened criminals are locked up for the full duration of their sentences,” Yusuf said in a statement.

“Only Reform UK will fix lawless Britain,” the party’s Home Affairs spokesperson added.

Temperatures in London are set to soar to as high as 35C this week as the country braces for its fourth heatwave of the summer.

The capital is expected to see bright sunshine and sweltering highs from Tuesday, with the forecast showing expected highs of a sizzling 29C.

Wednesday will see temperatures reaching their peak of well over 30C, according to the Met Office, before they begin to slowly fall to around 27C on Thursday.

An amber heat alert is in place for the city from Wednesday morning, with health bosses warning of increased risks for vulnerable people because of the extreme heat.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) also said it had attended more than 1,300 incidents, including grass fires and a person rescued from the Thames, over the weekend as a result of the heat.

The service said it handled 2,729 emergency calls between Friday and Sunday, and firefighters attended 1,345 incidents across the capital, including a grass fire which destroyed 10 acres in Rainham, a hectare of grassland alight in Croydon, and blazes at flats, homes, sheds, a bakery and a storage unit. The Brigade’s fire boat crews also rescued a person in the Thames near Battersea Pier.

https://www.meteoblue.com/en/products/cityclimate/widget/london?heading=1&webcams=1&share=1&info=1&autowidth=auto#10.32/51.5295/-0.1383

Forecasters said the summery weather will continue into the weekend, but temperatures will ease a little to around 26C.

The UKHSA said: “The existing yellow heat-health alert for the East Midlands, East of England, South East and London has been upgraded to amber and will be in place from 9am on Wednesday 29 July until 9am on Thursday 30 July.

“A yellow heat-health alert will remain in place for Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and South West regions for the same time period.

“There is no alert in place for the North East and North West regions.”

It comes after England marked the hottest June on record and the second warmest in Wales, with a new record temperature provisionally set in Lingwood, in Norfolk as the mercury climbing to 37.7C.

It is the fourth time this summer that temperatures have soared to heatwave levels, with record-breaking temperatures for the month in both May and June and another significant hot spell in mid-July.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Gregory Wolverson said: “This is a short-lived spell of heat, but temperatures will climb quickly through the first half of the week, particularly in the South East.

“By Wednesday, some areas could see temperatures in the mid-30Cs, and while the heat will not be widespread across the whole of the UK, it will be enough for parts of the South East to likely meet official heatwave criteria by Thursday.

“Elsewhere, the weather will be more changeable, and the change to cooler, more unsettled conditions will arrive sooner from the north and west, with a mix of sunshine and showers.

“Across northern areas, it is possible there will be heavier showers with a small risk of isolated thunderstorms through the week.”

The Love Island finale can be a fairly dull conclusion to the ITV2 dating show, but this year host Maya Jama aired out the dirty laundry from two months in caffeinated captivity.

Before Julia and Lorenzo were crowned the winners of the 2026 run, the finale adopted a reunion-style format, with Jama roving the axed Islanders for gossipy tidbits.

Among them were Priya and Aidan, who shocked the gathered fans of the show by confirming they have rekindled their rocky romance.

The business development manager, 25, was also asked about a comment she made on fellow bombshell Elicia’s job at the National Rail, which was accused of being ‘classist’ by ITV2 viewers at the time.

Priya received pushback from the Murphy brothers and viewers after saying Elicia should ‘go back’ to her job at National Rail, instead of talking about her on Aftersun.

Kavan responded: ‘There’s nothing wrong with working on the National Rail,’ while his partner Jasmine and fellow Islander Mica laughed at Priya’s comment.

RMT Union, which represents rail workers, reshared the video to their Instagram, followed by clips of workers on the train lines, ending with the message: ‘Rail workers and proud.’

Ticketing service Trainline similarly responded with a tongue-in-cheek TikTok clip, captioned, ‘Come for Elicia, come for us all’, showing a staffer holding up company merch.

Priya later apologised for her comment on Aftersun, saying it was ‘completely out of line’ and ‘catty’, noting emotions had become ‘heightened’ in the villa.

Jama addressed the controversy head-on during the finale, asking Priya if there was anything she wanted to say directly to Elicia, after which she directly apologised. 

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‘It was obviously not meant to be a job-shaming comment,’ Priya explained. ‘At the end of the day, I was telling you, go back to your day job and kind of keep my name out of your mouth. 

‘That was where I was coming from. It has nothing to do with where you work. I sell eye drops for a living. You could have worked at Boots. You could have worked anywhere.’

Priya meant go back to your job rather than slagging her off. And tbf she isn’t wrong?? Isnt the National Rail always late or some crap. More staff the better😭😭 #LoveIsland #LoveIslandUK

— Arooj♡ (@anxmkhanox) July 27, 2026

I don’t even like Priya, but come on. The British public wouldn’t survive watching any other franchise. The comment was basically just saying, “Go back to your day job instead of chatting shit.” It wasn’t that deep. She’s apologised 100 times now #loveisland

— lay (@Sophiebaekk) July 27, 2026

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She reiterated: ‘I was mainly just referencing, go back to your job and keep my name out of your mouth. That was kind of what I was saying,’ at which point Aidan felt the need to intervene and said: ‘Okay, Priya, okay darling, okay darling!’

In response, an ill Elicia said: ‘I feel like a few years back, I’d have probably reacted the same way, shouting and going about that.

‘So, I sort of understand the reaction. I’m proud of my job and I work my a*** off. There’s no hard feelings; we’ve swept everything under the rug. She’s an amazing person!’

MORE: Legendary children’s TV star Ronnie Le Drew who voiced puppet Zippy dies aged 78

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Munchetty added: “Live news, great conversations and connecting with audiences are what I love most about broadcasting, and 5 Live does all of that brilliantly. It has been a privilege to be part of the BBC Breakfast TV team for the past 17 years, working alongside an incredibly talented and hard-working group of journalists who are not only outstanding colleagues but also great friends.

When Ben Ofoedu’s 16-year relationship with TV presenter Vanessa Feltz ended in 2023, he walked away without the two things he longed for the most – a wife and a family of his own.

Now, after finding love with beauty entrepreneur Vanessa Brown, whom he affectionately calls ‘Vanessa 2.0’ and married last year in a lavish £100,000 ceremony at the Rose Castle in Cumbria, the Phats & Small singer, 54, says there is just one dream to fulfil – becoming a father.

To mark the couple’s first wedding anniversary at the weekend, Ben took the proactive step to see if fatherhood is still within his reach.

Ofoedu visited the Bridge Clinic in London for a check-up.

He tells me: ‘I am 23 years older than my partner, and I decided that I should go and get checked out as it hasn’t happened yet. I want to start a family, and a lot of males don’t go and get checked out to make sure that everything’s kind of working properly.’

The singer, whose hits include Turn Around, adds: ‘Sometimes with males they just assume it’s the female – “Oh, she can’t conceive” and it could be him that’s the problem. So for a man like me, I’m an advocate for going and getting checked out.’

Ben got engaged to Vanessa Feltz in 2006, but they called off the engagement in 2023 

Ben’s openness has won the support of his wife, as he admits: ‘I think she’s fine because she’s so much younger than me. So I feel it would just be down to me on whether we can conceive.’

It’s an anxious time for Ben as he waits to receive his results this week. ‘I feel for once in my life, I’m taking charge of my destiny. I was advised that if there was a problem, there’s a lot of contributing factors that can be reversed.’

The hardest part of the process, he admits, was before the test itself: ‘I’ve had to abstain for five days, which has been very difficult.’

Dine and dash gang hit celeb seaside spot

Its picturesque beaches have attracted everyone from Jack Whitehall to Winston Churchill, the Beatles to Dame Agatha Christie.

However, it appears that less welcome characters visited Bigbury-on-Sea in Devon on Saturday night, where staff at the popular Oyster Shack restaurant fell victim to a ‘dine and dash’ gang that left owners £600 out of pocket.

A spokesman for the restaurant said: ‘It’s incredibly upsetting for our staff, who worked hard to provide a warm welcome and great service, only to have their trust abused.’

The Oyster Shack’s owner Kieron Vanstone attempted to reach out to the group of six, who booked the table over the phone.

Devastated Kieron reveals: ‘They answered the first call and said, “We’re in church at the moment, we’ll call you back.”’

Rivals stars honour Dame Jilly at polo

It was a bittersweet International Day at Guards Polo Club in Windsor, where bonkbuster queen Dame Jilly Cooper presented the Coronation Cup last year.

Dame Jilly died suddenly last October aged 88 and cast members of Rivals, the hit Disney+ series based on her novels, including Emily Atack, attended the polo event at the weekend to celebrate her legacy.

The Coronation Cup was presented by Rivals star Katherine Parkinson to winners England.

‘It’s a very poignant day as we remember Dame Jilly,’ said Anna Hall, chief executive of the Hurlingham Polo Association, the sport’s governing body.

‘She was the one who brought so many of us together.’

Katherine Parkinson, who presented the Coronation Cup at International Day at Windsor’s Guards Polo Club, poses with Ned Hine, a professional polo player

Dame Jilly Cooper smiles for the camera with professional polo player Tommy Beresford at last year’s International Day – which was her last public appearance

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Dame Penelope Keith’s funeral at Guildford Cathedral today may reignite a long-running row. The star’s former peers at the Actors’ Benevolent Fund are said to have no intention of letting the controversy surrounding her departure as president of the charity in 2022 fade away. 

An insider tells me: ‘It’s [the funeral] bringing to a head some of the issues in this situation that have been quietly ongoing.’

And they said it wouldn’t last! Russell T Davies, 63, caused a furore when I disclosed he was dating Australian waiter and aspiring model Oliver Cole, who at 27 is 36 years his junior.

But perhaps age really is just a number for the couple, as the former Doctor Who screenwriter shared a picture online of the pair celebrating their first anniversary during the weekend at Mountain Restaurant in Soho, London.

Russell T Davies, 63, is dating Australian waiter and aspiring model Oliver Cole, 27

Helen’s heartbreak cure

Call The Midwife star Helen George says starring in High Society has proved the perfect remedy for heartbreak.

The 42-year-old, who recently split from property executive Dan Innes, is touring the UK with the musical and says her castmates have helped ease the pain of the break-up. George, who plays Tracy Lord, said: ‘The character is really fun. She gets drunk and she’s silly onstage. I’m lucky because the cast are so much fun. We make each other laugh.

‘When you’re going through a break-up, do a musical, it’s the best.’

The arrival of the romantic period drama Mr Malcolm’s List to the BBC iPlayer delighted fans but it also stirred up its star Zawe Ashton to call out the TV industry’s long-standing exclusion of brown and black actors from the genre. 

Zawe Ashton stars as Julia Thistlewaite, a society lady jilted by London’s most eligible bachelor Mr Malcolm

The actress, 42, who is of Ugandan and English descent, says ‘by locking us out of the sandbox of period television, they were denying us our right to our softness, our tenderness’. 

Zawe, who is engaged to Tom Hiddleston, adds: ‘We deserve to play, to romance, to wear the whimsical costumes, the bonnets, to mess up or succeed delightfully, regally. The door is unlatched. We cannot let it swing again.’

The TV presenter, 56, was at the wheel of a Porsche when he broke the speed limit on December 2 last year, and he was caught out again just 20 days later while driving a Bentley.

West Mercia Police brought two prosecutions against Hammond, putting forward the speed camera images of him driving the cars in Herefordshire to prove the offences.

Court papers also reveal how police spent weeks sending letters to Hammond’s multimillion-pound portfolio of homes in a bid to track him down.

(Image: West Mercia Police/PA Wire)

The presenter, who hosted Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May between 2002 and 2015 before the trio launched The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime, pleaded guilty through his lawyers to two charges of speeding.

At Telford Magistrates’ Court last week, he was handed seven penalty points for his licence.

Magistrate Ann Minton ordered him to pay a total of £1,771, comprising two fines of £333 and £666, £240 in costs and victim surcharges totalling £532.

Hammond, nicknamed The Hamster by his TV co-stars, nearly died in a 320mph jet car crash in 2006 while filming Top Gear, and he and Clarkson received a three-month driving ban in France in 2013 after they were caught speeding while making an episode of the show.

Documents from his court case show Hammond was caught out by a police officer with a handheld speed camera at just before 1pm on December 2 last year.

His Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo was clocked at 68mph in a 50mph limit on the A40 in Pencraig, Herefordshire.

At around 11.45am on December 22, Hammond’s Bentley Continental GT was speeding at 82mph in a 70mph limit on the A50 Rudhall Overbridge in Herefordshire.

Police sent speeding tickets to a Grade II* listed Herefordshire castle bought by Hammond in 2012 and a £1 million farm estate near Hereford, but the letters were returned marked as “addressee gone away”.

Eventually they tracked him down to his £2 million mansion near Abergavenny in Wales where it was noted more than 30 vehicles are currently registered.

Police also set out in court papers that Hammond had been accused of another driving offence in August last year.

Hammond was prosecuted for two offences of speeding and two further allegations that he had ignored the police letters and failed to identify himself as the guilty driver.

(Image: West Mercia Police/PA Wire)

In a letter to the court, the presenter’s solicitor pleaded guilty to the speeding charges and denied the other two offences, writing: “He replied identifying himself as the driver.

“He sent the reply by First Class post.

“He posted the reply himself.”

The police force opted to withdraw those extra charges, as Hammond was prosecuted and convicted for the speeding offences in the Single Justice Procedure – a fast-track court process which allows magistrates to sit behind closed doors to deal with low level criminal cases.

He was among 39 defendants who were convicted of driving offences by Ms Milton during the court session on July 22.

Two Gladiators stars reportedly won’t be returning for the upcoming season, with a Celebrity Traitors star set to step up to the podium instead.

It’s already been a turbulent lead-up to the new BBC season, with fan-favourite star Giant getting axed from the series in April, with him claiming it was due to his (now ex) girlfriend being an OnlyFans creator.

World’s Strongest Man victor Tom Stoltman was announced as his replacement, but it seems that’s not the end of the shake-ups as filming gets underway for season four.

Now, it transpires that Gladiators Bionic and Athena have also taken a step back from the series while rugby legend turned Traitors icon Joe Marler reportedly gears up to don the lyrca.

Speaking on the reported exit of Bionic and Athena, a source told The Sun: ‘They won’t film this year for the show but could be back for the tour, depending on how they recover from their injuries.’

Both TV athletes, whose real names are Matty Campbell and Karenjeet Kaur Bains respectively, suffered injuries during the last season while undertaking tough on-air challenges.

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Bionic looked visibly in pain during the Hang Tough challenge and was eventually attended to by doctors when he dropped to the crash mat.

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Athena endured an especially tough setback during season three filming when she had a complete ACL tear, meniscus tear, LCL and MCL tears and a bone fracture.

The star received surgery for the injury approximately a year ago and has been documenting her recovery on social media.

But as two Gladiators bow out, another could be rising to the fore in the shape of Traitors star Joe, who could join the force in a guest star capacity. This is yet to be done on the reboot of the show, which launched in 2024.

An insider told the publication: ‘It goes without saying he’s got the size, strength and muscle power to cut it as a Gladiator, but he’s also got the cheeky personality to match.

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‘Viewers of the original series and the BBC’s reboot love their Gladiators to come with a little sass, and Joe will easily put on a performance in every sense of the word.’

All in all, it’s shaping up to be an interesting start to the new season, especially with Tom officially coming on board as part of the new cast.

Sharing his excitement at the casting, he called it a ‘dream opportunity’ and an ‘incredible challenge’.

He added: ‘I’m excited to bring my strength, determination and personality to the arena, but, most importantly, I want people watching to feel inspired to believe in themselves and take on their own challenges.’

His name and costume are yet to be revealed.

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Former star Giant, real name Jamie Bigg, also passed on his well wishes, calling him ‘a fantastic person’ and that ‘he’ll absolutely smash it on the show.’

Metro has reached out to BBC and Joe Marler’s representatives for comment.

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Investigators discovered the remains in cardboard boxes at a home in Orange, a city in the Vaucluse region, according to reports

The remains of five babies have been found inside a couple’s residence in south-east France, according to reports from local media.

Officers made the discovery inside cardboard boxes at a property in Orange, a city in the Vaucluse department, as reported on Tuesday morning by French newspaper Le Parisien.

The discovery came after a woman born in 1994 delivered her third child at a hospital on Monday evening. Sources close to the case told the newspaper that this was her third experience of “pregnancy denial”.

Following notification from hospital staff in Orange, police attended the couple’s house. While officers were present, the father reportedly looked through several boxes and uncovered the remains of five infants, reports The Mirror.

The husband then reportedly took the body to the hospital, where staff alerted authorities.

The police searched the couple’s home and discovered fetuses in plastic bags, which had been placed in cardboard boxes.

The couple is said to have two children, aged eight and 12, in addition to the third child born on Monday. It is understood the woman remains in hospital and has not been taken into custody.

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Chad announced plans Monday to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, accusing the judicial body of ineffectiveness and bias against African countries.

The West African country submitted a letter to the United Nations to begin withdrawing from the court, which was established to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes under its foundational treaty, the Rome Statute. The withdrawal process takes at least a year.

Chad was the fourth African country since 2025 to begin withdrawing from the ICC. Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced last year they would stop participating with the court based in The Hague.

The court is already facing daunting challenges, including the July 24 removal of its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, over sexual misconduct allegations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier this month said the U.S. was launching a campaign to dismantle what he called the threat posed to its national sovereignty by the ICC. A February 2025 executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the court over investigations of U.S. ally Israel.

The U.S. Bureau of African Affairs called on more of the 125 member states to withdraw from the Rome Statute in a post Monday on X.

“The United States welcomes Chad’s decision to withdraw from the ICC and join the growing number of nations reclaiming their sovereignty from this flawed institution,” the agency said.

By ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Published: 08:46 BST, 28 July 2026 | Updated: 10:06 BST, 28 July 2026

A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan on Tuesday, sparking alerts and damaging an ancient castle, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The tremor also measured at the highest possible level seven on Japan’s own Shindo scale of shaking, the agency added.

The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake warnings for Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, and Miyazaki prefectures, all on Japan’s southern Kyushu island.

Residents in coastal areas have been urged to move to higher ground and follow official evacuation instructions. 

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The stone walls of the ancient Kumamoto Castle collapsed due to the earthquake.

A tsunami alert of a wave of up to one metre was activated after the quake, warning it could arrive at around 5pm local time.

Broadcaster NHK said that waves of up to that level may already have been recorded.

No immediate abnormalities were recorded at nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

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A damaged property pictured after an earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday

Damage in an arcade after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Japan

Toppled shelving after an earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1, struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture

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Bottles of wines are scattered after the magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake hit the region

About 45,000 households and facilities have no power in the Kumamoto region, according to local utility Kyushu Electric Power.

The firm added that three nuclear reactors operating at the time in the region were continuing their normal operations.

Around half an hour after the quake, a local NHK staffer wearing a helmet reported live on air that the shaking was continuing, with the newsroom shaking so violently it was difficult to remain standing.

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‘Shaking is continuing as I speak. Including myself, there may be some people who feel their hearts racing,’ he said.

‘When the quake struck, the shaking was so big that I could not stand up. Please be aware of possibility that shaking might continue after this.’

A quake with a magnitude of 7.2 hit northern Japan on June 25 but caused no deaths or major damage.

Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.

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People stand outside JR Kumamoto Station after the magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake

Reporters watch the news showing a large quake and possible one meter tsunami wave in Southern Japan

The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world’s earthquakes.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they strike.

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It is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.

On April 20 this year, a tremor measuring 7.7 hit the country’s north, injuring at least 10 people and shaking large buildings in Tokyo.

This prompted authorities to issue a special advisory warning of an increased risk of earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or stronger. The advisory was lifted after a week.