SEARCH AND RESCUE. Rescue workers conduct a search and rescue operation at the damaged Aeon Mall shopping center, where, according to local media, an explosion occurred after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan's southern Kumamoto prefecture, in Kashima Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 28, 2026.
Kyodo/via REUTERS
(1st UPDATE) 'Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time,' says Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
KUMAMOTO, Japan – A 77.1-magnitude earthquake killed at least 13 people near the southern Japanese city of Kumamoto and rescuers are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath the rubble, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday, July 29.
“Even now, there are people waiting to be rescued, and this is a race against time. We will marshal all available resources on the ground to save and rescue as many people as possible,” Takaichi told reporters at her office in Tokyo a day after the quake struck, raising the toll from three deaths reported earlier.
