Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake: Japanese PM Takaichi Declares Race Against Time As 170 Soldiers Deploy To Rescue Trapped Mall Workers While Aeon President Says Possible Gas Leak Caused Blast Fifty Minutes After Evacuation
According to Al Jazeera and Reuters, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan on July 28, 2026, triggering an explosion at the Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima fifty minutes after staff had evacuated approximately 3,000 shoppers in under half an hour. Three of the eight people rescued from the partially collapsed building were found dead, and three shop workers remain unaccounted for.
“I thought a bomb had gone off,” said one witness near the mall. Another nearby described a “large cloud of smoke” billowing out, adding: “It was like volcanic ash was falling around us.”
Police and firefighters were initially reluctant to enter due to ongoing aftershock risk. More than 100 aftershocks occurred on Tuesday alone. By Wednesday morning, 170 soldiers had deployed to assist rescue operations.
Aeon President Akio Yoshida confirmed that all customers had been evacuated before the explosion but said some employees had apparently remained inside or returned. A gas leak is the most likely cause. Ironically, the mall had only just reopened after seismic reinforcement works following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake that previously damaged the same site.
The mall was rebuilt to be safer. The earth did not care. Check out our previous coverage of natural disasters on The Trusted Times.
