Japan Earthquake

AEON Mall shopping center, where an explosion occurred following a powerful earthquake, is seen in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, Thursday, July 30, 2026.

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Hope dwindles for rescue in southwestern Japan quake as death toll climbs to 23

Hope dwindles for rescue in southwestern Japan quake as death toll climbs to 23

The Kumamoto prefectural government says the powerful earthquake that hit southwestern Japan earlier this week has now killed at least 23 people. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake on Tuesday set off an explosion at a mall, toppled a factory chimney and flattened homes in the Kumamoto area on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu. Time was running out to find survivors as rescuers continued to work. The total number of those missing was unclear. The quake left at least 63 people injured, five of them seriously, the prefectural government said.