“Quite a few” people are believed to have been killed after an explosion at a mall in the south of the country, according to local media citing police.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi raised concerns about heatstroke in disaster-stricken areas and places where power outages and water shortages are occurring.
“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,” she wrote, according to a translation by Google.
Takaichi added that the government will ensure the “delivery of essential supplies such as food and water, as well as simple air conditioners and power vehicles for heatstroke prevention.”
Kumamoto Castle, one of the country’s oldest castles, was damaged in the earthquake, according to online video.
The castle was built in 1607 by Kato Kiyomasa, the first daimyo (feudal lord) of the castle, according to a website for the castle, which has become a major tourist destination.
A view of Kumamoto Castle, one of the country's oldest castles, today. Yomiuri Shimbun / AP
Video published online and geolocated by NBC News appeared to show part of the outer walls damaged and surrounded by a cloud of dust.
An X account for the castle wrote in a post that it was closed for the day due to the earthquake but did not address any potential damage.
Police in Yatsushiro, a city on the southwestern end of the country, said several people are unaccounted for at Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro Plant, where a chimney collapsed, NHK reported. Aerial footage of the plant appears to show a fallen chimney cut in half.
“We are gathering information on whether there are any casualties, but we are concerned because we cannot reach them,” a spokesperson for the plant told the media outlet.
Japan’s National Police Agency said that there are 20 to 30 employees of the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto who cannot be reached, state broadcaster NHK reported.
The police and fire departments are trying to determine whether any of them are trapped inside, according to the broadcaster. Many of the customers managed to escape, but rescuers are trying to determine whether any customers are still trapped inside.
“Quite a few” people are believed to have been killed after an explosion at a mall following today’s earthquake, commercial broadcaster TBS cited local police as saying. A second broadcaster, Fuji TV, also said that multiple deaths had been confirmed at the mall.
Firefighters at Aeon Mall in Kashima town, following an explosion today. Kazuki Wakasugi / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP
At least 10 people, including employees, were unaccounted for, state broadcaster NHK reported.
Japan’s nuclear authority informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that the Sendai nuclear power plant was not damaged in today’s earthquake.
“The IAEA will continue to monitor the situation,” the U.N. watchdog said in a post on X.
Since 2011, when a 9.1-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami triggered meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the country’s nuclear plants have come under acute focus during earthquakes.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said 300 members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces would be sent to southern Japan to help with disaster relief.
Multiple people are trapped in a mall hours after a strong earthquake struck southern Japan, local fire officials say.
The partially destroyed AEON Mall today. Kyodo via AP Images
An explosion was also heard on the second floor of the AEON Mall, officials said, according to state broadcaster NHK, which carried footage of almost a dozen fire trucks in the facility’s parking lot.
Images also showed the mall’s collapsed ceilings and facade, and a debris-littered road.
Passengers crowd JR Hakata Station in Fukuoka southwestern Japan as bullet train services are suspended following the 7.1-magnitude earthquake this morning.
Kyodo via AP
Fallen shelves and office equipment in Kumamoto prefecture.
Kyodo via AP
The exterior wall of a store collapsed in Kumamoto city.
JIJI Press / AFP via Getty Images
At least 12 buildings had collapsed, state broadcaster NHK reported, including four cases were people were still trapped.
Most of the incidents were recorded in the city of Yatsushiro, a small city in in Kumamoto prefecture. NHK ran aerial footage of a large commercial facility and mall in Kumamoto prefecture with a collapsed ceiling and exposed internal structure.
Pillars holding a shrine had also collapsed and a building had also caught on fire. At least seven fires were recorded in the prefecture, the broadcaster reported.
A major earthquake hit southern Japan today, derailing a train, injuring dozens and triggering a regional tsunami warning.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 and depth of 10 kilometers, or just more than 6 miles, was at the highest end of the seismic intensity scale.
Japan’s Cabinet Office’s disaster management division said the earthquake struck around 4:27 p.m. local time (3:27 a.m. ET), with a tsunami advisory issued for the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas minutes later. The warning was later lifted, state broadcaster NHK reported.
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Japan experiences tremors — both minor and major — almost every day, making it one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. The East Asian country sits on the “Ring of Fire,” where several tectonic plates converge, triggering many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Firefighters at the scene of a burning house, in a still taken from a video of Uki, Kumamoto prefecture, following an earthquake today. via Reuters
Nearly 20% of global earthquakes measuring 6.0 or higher occur in Japan. Since 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan has significantly strengthened its earthquake warning systems and evacuation protocols.
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