A major earthquake, officially named the Reiwa 8 Kumamoto earthquake, struck Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28, 2026, at 4:27 p.m. JST. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1 (MJMA) and a depth of 10 kilometers, causing widespread destruction. The Prime Minister confirmed a death toll of at least 13 people, with more than 387 injured and at least 24 reported missing across affected areas.
The earthquake caused significant infrastructure damage. At Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima, an explosion occurred and the second floor collapsed, trapping between 20-30 people and resulting in the deaths of two women. Another person was killed by a collapsed house, and a factory chimney collapse at Nippon Paper Industries in Yatsushiro also led to two deaths and left nine people missing. Additionally, a section of a bridge collapsed, and the exterior walls of a 17th-century castle were damaged.
Tens of thousands of people experienced power and water outages, with approximately 48,000 households in Kumamoto Prefecture losing electricity. At least 45 medical facilities were damaged, and parts of the Kyushu Expressway were closed. Railway services, including high-speed bullet trains, were suspended, and Kumamoto airport shut its runway, diverting and canceling flights. Major companies like TSMC, Sony, and Fujifilm evacuated workers from their plants, though TSMC reported its site was unaffected and operations were gradually resuming.
