Death toll from Japan earthquake climbs to 34

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, reported that the confirmed death toll from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in southwestern Japan has increased to 34. The Kumamoto prefectural government announced the updated figure on Friday, July 31, 2026, and said six additional people were seriously injured.

The quake struck on Tuesday near the city of Uki in Kumamoto Prefecture, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. According to the report, it disrupted power to roughly 40,000 homes, stopped rail services and prompted tsunami warnings in some areas. Rescue workers were shown searching the damaged Aeon shopping centre after the earthquake.

Authorities linked nearly half of the deaths to two reported incidents: damage at a Nippon Paper Industries paper mill and a possible gas explosion at an Aeon store. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urged residents to stay alert for the possibility of more strong aftershocks. Relief work is also being complicated by water shortages and summer heat in affected communities.

The disaster is significant because Japan is highly exposed to seismic activity, and Kumamoto has experienced deadly earthquakes before. Al Jazeera noted that a major quake in the prefecture about a decade earlier killed 275 people. The latest toll may focus attention on rescue operations, infrastructure safety and the needs of residents coping with disrupted utilities and aftershock risks.