Death toll rises to 18 as rescuers comb through quake rubble in southwestern Japan
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in southwestern Japan has resulted in at least 18 deaths and dozens of injuries. Rescue operations are ongoing at a collapsed shopping mall and factory, with officials concerned that the death toll may rise.
Why it matters
The event represents a significant natural disaster with immediate humanitarian and economic consequences for the Kyushu region.
Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors on Wednesday (July 29, 2026) after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 18 people in southwestern Japan.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit a day earlier in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu also left at least 62 people injured, six of them seriously, the prefectural government said. The tally has been steadily growing, fanning fears it may continue to rise.
The sweltering weather heightened worries about the survivors as rescuers braved the heat. It remained unclear how many people might still be missing.
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