A Japanese retailer has apologised after admitting two employees who died in a shopping centre explosion had been instructed to return inside a quake-damaged building to secure the day’s takings.The revelation has triggered widespread backlash in Japan following last week’s magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Kumamoto prefecture, which claimed 38 lives, including seven employees working at the Aeon Mall where a devastating explosion occurred about an hour after the initial quake.One of the victims was 22-year-old Kurumi Otake, who had safely evacuated the shopping centre before returning inside.According to her family, Ms Otake encountered a relative in the car park after escaping the building and explained she had to go back because she had been asked to put the store’s cash into a safe.She and another employee never came back out.Their employer, general goods retailer Habita, has since apologised and acknowledged the instruction should never have been given.“The instructions given at the time were inappropriate, and I truly regret them,” Habita sales director Goji Yuse said, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.“Looking back now, it was not worth a life.”The company’s explanation has shifted in recent days.Initially, representatives said the workers had wanted to return to collect personal belongings before being asked to place the cash in the safe.However, during a televised exchange with reporters at Ms Otake’s wake, company representatives admitted the request to secure the money came first.When repeatedly questioned, a company official eventually confirmed the employees had first been asked to return to place the day’s sales in the safe before any discussion about retrieving belongings.The exchange quickly spread across Japanese television and social media, fuelling criticism of the company’s handling of the disaster.Speaking through tears, one of Ms Otake’s relatives said she had tried to stop the young woman from going back inside.“If she hadn’t gone back inside the store at that time, Kurumi would still be with her family today,” the relative told local media.Her mother also shared her heartbreak.“My daughter is not coming back,” she said.Aeon Mall has stressed its own emergency procedures instructed employees not to re-enter the building after evacuating until authorities had confirmed it was safe.The shopping centre operator said seven employees died after apparently returning to the building despite those instructions, adding it did not intend to place blame on individual workers.Police and fire investigators began examining the site this week to determine what caused the explosion.The blast occurred after thousands of shoppers and workers had already evacuated following the powerful earthquake, which caused widespread destruction across Kumamoto Prefecture.Recovery efforts continue across the region as authorities investigate both the cause of the explosion and the decisions made in the chaotic aftermath of the quake.