‘Like volcanic ash falling’: Inside Aeon mall after Japan’s earthquake - Al Jazeera

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing its staff and Reuters, reports that a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, was followed by an explosion at the Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The blast tore through part of the complex after thousands of shoppers and employees had been evacuated, leaving steel exposed and debris scattered across the car park.

According to the report, first responders pulled eight people from the partially collapsed mall early Wednesday, including three who had died. Aeon said three shop workers were still unaccounted for and that it was examining whether a gas leak may have caused the explosion. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said rescuers were working against time to reach anyone still trapped at the mall and in other areas affected by the quake.

Aeon President Akio Yoshida said staff moved about 3,000 shoppers out within 30 minutes of the earthquake, but some employees later appeared to have stayed inside or gone back in before the explosion, which occurred about 50 minutes after the quake. Around 170 soldiers were deployed to assist at the site, while police and firefighters faced hazards from unstable wreckage and repeated aftershocks; Al Jazeera reported that more than 100 aftershocks had occurred in Kumamoto by the end of Tuesday.

The mall had reopened only a month earlier after repairs and upgrades linked to the deadly 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, including publicized seismic safety improvements. The incident is likely to intensify scrutiny of post-quake evacuation procedures, gas safety and building resilience at large commercial sites in Japan’s earthquake-prone regions.