Officials in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, confirmed on July 29 that two women in their 20s lost their lives at the “Aeon Mall Kumamoto” shopping center in Kamishima Town. Six others were injured, with one person in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest. The remaining injured are not in life-threatening condition.
At 4:27 PM on the 28th, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck about 20 kilometers south of Kumamoto City at a depth of 10 kilometers. After around 200 people evacuated the “Aeon Mall Kumamoto,” an explosion occurred, collapsing part of the mall’s second floor. Reports suggest that twenty to thirty employees were unaccounted for at the time.
Footage from the scene shows severe damage to one side of the mall, with exposed steel beams and piles of rubble scattered across the parking lot. An Aeon spokesperson stated that customers and employees had completed their evacuation after the initial tremor, and the cause of the explosion remains unknown. Authorities are investigating whether a gas leak was involved.
The intense shaking and ground deformation from a major earthquake can directly damage buried gas pipes, appliances, and valves, causing a rapid leak of gas into the air. If it encounters a spark, it can ignite a violent explosion in enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces, potentially triggering a chain of blasts and widespread secondary fires.
A shop owner near “Aeon Mall Kumamoto” described the blast’s impact as incredibly intense. He saw a massive plume of smoke rise up, and it felt like volcanic ash was falling all around.
Aeon Mall is a core commercial real estate development and operation arm of Japan’s Aeon Group, running 203 shopping centers globally, including 163 in Japan.
“Aeon Mall Kumamoto” is a leading regional shopping center in Kyushu, featuring popular brands like Uniqlo and Muji. It has 31 stores offering tax-free shopping for foreign tourists, a cinema, and direct access to the local largest day-trip hot spring, “Kamishima Yuimoto Mizuharu.” Aeon’s overall employee gender composition shows a much higher proportion of women than men.
Ten years ago, during a magnitude 7 earthquake, the western area of this same shopping center was damaged and closed, taking nearly a year to repair before resuming full operations.
Kumamoto Prefecture, located in central Kyushu, governs 14 cities and has a population of 1.68 million. Its manufacturing sector is centered on automobiles and semiconductors. Factories belonging to companies like Tokyo Electron, Renesas Electronics, Panasonic Holdings, and Mitsubishi Electric are inspecting their production lines for damage to assess whether they can resume operations from July 29.
According to reports, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi revealed today at the Prime Minister’s Office that yesterday’s earthquake has resulted in 13 deaths. Specific details remain unclear.
A factory of Nippon Paper Industries in Yatsushiro City was severely damaged, with one of its chimneys snapped in half. Two people are in a state of “cardiopulmonary arrest,” and nine others are still missing.
Two local hospitals are each treating over 50 injured patients, some with serious injuries; several Shinkansen passengers were also hurt in the quake. Reports indicate that when the earthquake struck, two trains on the Kyushu Shinkansen were affected, injuring a total of 7 passengers, with 2 taken to the hospital. The Kyushu Shinkansen suspended all services from the first train on July 29.
The Japan Meteorological Agency noted that as of 10:00 AM local time on the 29th, 171 earthquakes of intensity 1 or higher had occurred around the epicenter. They warned that for about a week following the main quake, especially over the next 2 to 3 days, there is a risk of another earthquake with a maximum intensity of up to 7.
The Japanese archipelago sits at the boundary of the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates. About one-fifth of the world’s magnitude 6 or greater earthquakes occur in the country, with a major destructive quake happening on average every three years.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan at a depth of 10 kilometers, killing at least 15,899 people. The quake and resulting tsunami severely impacted the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants. The 2016 Kumamoto earthquake claimed 275 lives, injured 2,739 people, and devastated numerous buildings.