Japan ends rescue operation at Kumamoto shopping centre after explosion kills seven

Quake damage across the prefecture

The blast occurred at a shopping centre in the city of Kashima, in the Kumamoto region of Kyushu, Japan's southwestern main island. Local media reported that the structure had already sustained heavy damage from the earthquake before the explosion, complicating the work of firefighters and rescue crews who were dispatched to the site.

Sanae Takaichi's government said earlier in the week that emergency services were mobilised across the affected area. Officials have not publicly identified the cause of the explosion, and an investigation is ongoing. Fire authorities in Kumamoto said they would continue to examine the site for safety reasons even as the active rescue phase ended.

More than 9,000 evacuees were being housed in temporary shelters set up in schools, community centres and public halls across the prefecture, local media reported. Prefectural authorities said they were working to restore water, electricity and gas supplies to the hardest-hit municipalities, where many residents remain unable to return to damaged homes.

Cause of the blast under investigation

The Aeon Mall, identified in local reporting as the site of the blast, sits in one of the worst-affected districts of Kashima. Residents near the complex said the explosion, which followed the shaking of the earthquake, scattered debris across a wide area and left a section of the building's facade collapsed. Emergency crews had been working at the site since the blast was reported.

Japan sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences a significant share of the world's earthquakes. The country has invested heavily in quake-resistant building codes and early-warning systems, but officials warned that aftershocks continued to pose a risk to weakened structures in the Kumamoto region.

Japan's earthquake vulnerability

Local governments urged residents who had returned to their homes to remain vigilant for further tremors and to report new structural damage. Evacuation orders remained in place for several neighbourhoods closest to the shopping centre, where authorities said the risk of additional collapses had not yet been ruled out.

The prefecture said it would provide updates on the death toll and on the condition of those injured as information became available. National government officials in Tokyo said they were coordinating with Kumamoto authorities on relief supplies, medical support and temporary housing for displaced residents.