Thirteen people died following a major earthquake in Japan on Tuesday (July 28, 2026), Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
“Thirteen people have died,” Takaichi said Wednesday (July 29). An earthquake registering a magnitude of 7.1 shook Kumamoto on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu late Tuesday (July 28, 2026) afternoon, causing damage and injuries, officials said. A tsunami advisory was temporarily issued but was lifted within two hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Also read | Japan earthquake: ‘Considerable’ number of people reported dead in Kumamoto mall after earthquake
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in a message posted on X, said her government has set up a task force to gather information, assess possible damage and prepare for rescue operations if needed.
“Many people” were feared trapped in a stricken shopping mall, authorities said, after the quake toppled buildings, sparked fires and reportedly injured more than 100.
Ms. Takaichi later told reporters that there have been reports of several injuries and damage to roads, bridges and buildings, as well as blackouts and fire, though details are still unclear. Ms. Takaichi warned people cooking to be careful with fire and with shards of broken glass.
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- July 29, 2026 07:00
I established the Emergency Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters, with myself as head: PM Takaichi
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi established an Emergency Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters. She said, “In light of the emerging reports of extensive damage and evacuations, at 6:20 p.m., I established the Emergency Disaster.”
“Countermeasures Headquarters, with myself as the head and relevant Cabinet Ministers as members, and held the first Emergency Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at 7:49 p.m.” She added that in the disaster-stricken areas, power outages and water shortages are occurring, and the situation raises concerns about heatstroke as well.
- July 29, 2026 06:49
13 dead in Japan quake: PM Takaichi
Thirteen people died following a major earthquake in Japan on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
“Thirteen people have died,” Takaichi said Wednesday (July 29).
- AFP
- July 29, 2026 04:09
Two dead in shopping mall hit by Japan quake: NHK
Two women were killed at the mall in Japan hit by a powerful earthquake and subsequent explosion, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, citing local officials.
Three other people were in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, it said -- one at the mall and two others at a factory in Yatsushiro city where a smokestack collapsed.
AFP
- July 28, 2026 19:05
'Many people' feared trapped in mall
“Many people” were feared trapped in a stricken shopping mall in Japan late today, authorities said, after a major earthquake toppled buildings, sparked fires and reportedly injured more than 100.
Private broadcaster TBS reported that a “considerable number” were feared dead inside the mall in the town of Kashima after the fire brigade said that the second floor collapsed in the 7.1-magnitude tremor.
-AFP
- July 28, 2026 18:21
Japan's major earthquakes in the past 15 years
Following are some of the major quakes that have hit Japan in the last 15 years:
- 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.
- 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 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 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 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 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 January 1, 2024, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the remote Noto peninsula on the west coast of central Japan on New Year’s Day. More than 300 people were killed.
- On August 8, 2024, a magnitude-7.1 earthquake off the coast of southern Miyazaki triggered Japan’s first-ever advisory on higher-than-usual risks of a megaquake, which was lifted a week later.
- July 28, 2026 18:07
No tsunami detected
An earthquake registering a magnitude of 7.1 shook Kumamoto on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu late Tuesday afternoon, causing damage and injuries, officials said. A tsunami advisory was temporarily issued but was lifted within two hours, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The agency said the tsunami advisory covered the nearby Ariake and Yatsushiro Seas on the western coasts of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Fukuoka and Saga prefectures about 900 kilometres southwest of Tokyo.
-AP
- July 28, 2026 17:17
'Considerable' number of people dead in Japan mall after quake
A “considerable number” of people have died in a shopping mall damaged by a major earthquake today in southwestern Japan, broadcaster TBS said.
Police told AFP that they could not confirm whether there were any fatalities at the mall in the town of Kashima.
Emergency services earlier said “many people” were trapped inside the building after a floor collapsed.
-AFP
- July 28, 2026 17:14
‘Considerable’ number of people reported dead in Kumamoto mall after earthquake
A “considerable number” of people have died in a shopping mall damaged by a major earthquake today in southwestern Japan, broadcaster TBS said.
Police said that they could not confirm whether there were any fatalities at the mall in the town of Kashima. Emergency services earlier said “many people” were trapped inside the building after a floor collapsed.
A major earthquake collapsed buildings and sparked fires in Japan’s southwest, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said today, with broadcaster NHK saying that at least 50 people were taken to hospital.
