TOKYO—Rescue operations were under way at a Japanese shopping mall, and more than 200,000 people have been issued evacuation orders in the region after a strong earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday that 13 people were killed in the quake, with many more injured.
The magnitude 6.8 quake at 4:27 p.m. Tuesday hit Kumamoto, a predominantly rural prefecture on the island of Kyushu that has transformed into a tech powerhouse with a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plant.
More than an hour after the quake, an apparent explosion rocked an Aeon shopping mall near the quake’s epicenter. The local fire department said a second-floor section collapsed, leaving people trapped inside as emergency responders worked to free them. Footage aired on public broadcaster NHK showed rescuers entering the building to search for survivors.
Kumamoto prefecture has a population of over 1.6 million.
The damaged exterior of the Aeon Mall shopping centre, where an explosion occurred after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture, in Kashima Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Over 260,000 people were issued with evacuation orders in Kumamoto and neighboring Nagasaki prefecture, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
The earthquake, which the U.S. Geological Survey put at magnitude 6.8 and the Japan Meteorological Agency measured at 7.1, triggered precautionary safety protocols across industrial sites in Kumamoto.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, said its local subsidiary activated emergency procedures and evacuated all personnel. All staff were confirmed safe and initial structural inspections found the facility structure to be safe, allowing operations to gradually resume, according to the company.
The quake prompted chip suppliers, equipment makers and other TSMC partners in the area to check on staff and assess damage. Sony’s semiconductor unit said its staff had been safely evacuated.
A person walks past collapsed shops due to an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto Prefecture, in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Issei Kato
A decade ago, a pair of earthquakes 28 hours apart killed more than 200 people in Kumamoto and severely damaged Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination.
Write to Yang Jie at jie.yang@wsj.com and Junko Fukutome at junko.fukutome@wsj.com
