Death toll from southwestern Japan quake climbs to 34 as rescuers continue search at collapsed mall

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Japan's southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday, setting off an explosion at a mall, toppling a factory chimney & flattening homes.

Rescue workers conduct a search operation at the damaged Aeon Mall shopping centre after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan's southern Kumamoto Prefecture, in Kashima Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 30, 2026. Kim Kyung-Hoon / REUTERS

Kumamoto: The death toll climbed to 34 from a powerful earthquake in southwestern Japan that set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes, the Kumamoto prefectural government said on Friday.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Tuesday.

Officials said 34 deaths had been confirmed as related to the disaster, with one more death still under investigation. On Thursday authorities said more than 80 people had been injured, five of them seriously.

Searchers continued to work in the Kumamoto area on Friday, including at the site of the collapsed mall.

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