A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto region on Japan's southern island of Kyushu on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least 13 people, according to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Rescue operations continued into Wednesday morning, with the Self-Defense Forces joining emergency workers to search for those still missing, including several people trapped at a badly damaged shopping mall. Takaichi described the situation as "a race against time" and pledged to do everything possible to find survivors.

The quake collapsed part of the second floor of the Aeon Mall in Kashima Town, trapping people inside, while officials are also investigating a suspected gas explosion. At a nearby paper factory, a collapsed chimney left seven people feared trapped after two survivors and two bodies were recovered. Around 90 injured people were taken to hospitals in Yatsushiro and Kumamoto city, a train derailed at Yatsushiro station, and Kumamoto Castle, still under repair from a deadly 2016 quake, suffered further damage. No abnormalities were reported at nearby nuclear plants, but authorities have urged caution over possible aftershocks in the coming days.