Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Japan’s Kyushu region, JMA says

A store sign of a restaurant is seen fallen on the ground after an earthquake in Kumamoto in the Kyushu island, southern Japan on July 28, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
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  • A tsunami ⁠warning for a wave measuring 1 meter was issued ‌after ‌the earthquake

TOKYO: At least 50 people were taken to hospital with injuries on Tuesday after a major quake in southwestern Japan, broadcaster NHK said.

It also reported 12 houses had collapsed, with four cases in which people had been trapped inside.

“Many people” were trapped inside a shopping mall damaged in a major earthquake Tuesday in southwestern Japan, emergency services said.

In “Kashima town, a shopping complex’s second floor collapsed, leaving many people trapped inside,” the fire department said in a statement.

Police said earlier they had received reports of what sounded like an explosion at the Aeon Mall outlet in the Kumamoto region, with no information on damage or any casualties.

A tsunami ⁠warning for a wave measuring 1 meter was issued ‌after ‌the earthquake, ‌the JMA ‌said.

The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake ‌warnings for Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, ⁠Saga, ⁠Oita, and Miyazaki prefectures, all on Japan’s southern Kyushu island.