Magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Southwestern Japan kills 14, displaces thousands

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan on July 28, 2026, killing 14 people and displacing nearly 8,800 residents. The disaster triggered a fatal explosion at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima and damaged a Nippon Paper Industries plant in Yatsushiro. In response, 4,600 Self-Defense Forces personnel launched rescue operations. The quake also disrupted regional transport and forced major manufacturers, including Toyota and Honda, to suspend factory operations.

Magnitude 7.1 Kumamoto earthquake

• ▪Nearly 8,800 people stayed in evacuation centers in Kumamoto Prefecture following the earthquake
• ▪The earthquake registered the maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Uki and Hikawa at 4:27 p.m. on July 28, 2026
• ▪Up to 48,000 households in Kumamoto Prefecture lost power, with 34,000 still without electricity as of 2:00 p.m. on July 29, 2026
• ▪A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan on July 28, 2026

Aeon shopping mall explosion

• ▪The explosion at the Aeon shopping mall killed three workers, left one worker unresponsive, and left three workers unaccounted for
• ▪An explosion, possibly caused by gas, occurred at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima at around 5:50 p.m. on July 28, 2026
• ▪All customers safely evacuated the Aeon shopping mall to outdoor parking lots by around 5:00 p.m. on July 28, 2026, before the blast

Death toll reaches fourteen

• ▪The death toll from the Kumamoto earthquake reached 14 confirmed dead as of July 29, 2026
• ▪One person died at a hospital after being rescued from a collapsed house in the city of Yatsushiro
• ▪Five people died, two were injured, and four went missing at a Nippon Paper Industries Co. plant in Yatsushiro where a smokestack was damaged

Self-Defense Forces rescue operations

• ▪About 480 police personnel from 11 prefectures and a Tokyo metropolitan police emergency rescue team joined the search for missing people
• ▪Around 4,600 Self-Defense Forces personnel were dispatched in response to the earthquake, with 170 conducting rescues at a collapsed shopping center

Transportation service suspensions

• ▪Sagawa Express Co. and Japan Post Co. suspended delivery and postal services in parts of Kumamoto Prefecture
• ▪Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train services were mostly suspended, except for a section between Hakata and Chikugo Funagoya stations
• ▪Japan Airlines canceled 11 flights and All Nippon Airways canceled two flights due to the earthquake

Factory closures across region

• ▪Tokyo Electron Ltd. suspended operations at two chip equipment plants in Kumamoto Prefecture
• ▪Honda Motor Co. halted operations at its factory in the town of Ozu through the morning of July 29, 2026
• ▪Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc. announced a halt at three Fukuoka Prefecture plants from the evening of July 29, 2026, through late July 31, 2026