'This Is Truly A Race Against Time': Japan PM As Earthquake Rescue Efforts Continue

At least 13 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful earthquake struck Japan's Kumamoto prefecture, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warning that rescue teams are in a "race against time" to find survivors trapped under debris.

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck at 4:27 PM local time on Tuesday, with its epicentre located 20 km south of Kumamoto City at a depth of approximately 10 km, according to the US Geological Survey. The Japan Meteorological Agency recorded strong shaking of maximum seismic intensity 7, the highest level on Japan's scale, in Uki City and Makigawa Town.

The prime minister told reporters on Wednesday that more than 4,600 personnel had been deployed as part of the emergency response. "Although more than 20 hours have passed since the earthquake, there are those still in need of help. This is truly a race against time," Takaichi said, according to the BBC.

Around 7,700 people have been evacuated from their homes, and approximately 450 evacuation centres are currently open, Takaichi said, adding that the government was taking measures to provide them with food, water, air-conditioning and power generators as temperatures were expected to hit 35°C.

Explosion At Aeon Mall And Factory Collapse

An explosion ripped through the Aeon Mall in Kashima town about an hour after the earthquake, killing three people and leaving three others missing, the mall's president Akio Yoshida told a press conference. Four people were transported to hospital, with one person rescued from a restroom and another in cardiac arrest.

The mall had reopened on June 13 after being damaged during the deadly 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, which killed nearly 300 people in the region. The sprawling shopping complex houses around 200 stores and some 5,000 parking spaces.

At the Nippon Paper Industries factory in Yatsushiro, a partially collapsed smokestack trapped multiple employees. Nine workers remain missing beneath the debris as of July 29. Emergency responders previously recovered two individuals in a state of cardiac arrest.

Widespread Disruption And Damage

The earthquake knocked out power for more than 36,000 households, damaged roads and bridges, and triggered multiple fires. Authorities issued evacuation advisories to nearly 260,000 residents across Kumamoto Prefecture, warning of the risk of strong aftershocks and landslides over the coming week.

Major manufacturers, including Honda, suspended operations at their Kumamoto factories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. evacuated workers temporarily before gradually resuming work, while Tokyo Electron suspended activities at its facilities for safety inspections.

The worship hall of the 19th-century Yatsushiro Shrine and the walls of Kumamoto Castle both collapsed, according to the BBC report.

Hiroko Ogata, a 75-year-old restaurant owner in Yatsushiro City, told the BBC: "All of a sudden there was a big jolt, and I was surprised and scared. I have lived here for 75 years, but I have never experienced such a big quake. I thought I would die."

Authorities said two people were found in a state of "cardiac arrest" after at least 18 houses collapsed in the town of Hikawa, with residents still trapped in two of the houses.

Kyushu Electric Power said it had found no irregularities at its Sendai and Genkai nuclear power stations following the quake. Train operator JR Kyushu suspended services, including its high-speed Shinkansen lines.

Japan sits among the world's most earthquake-prone nations, lying along the Pacific "Ring of Fire." The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes killed more than 270 people and inflicted extensive structural damage across the prefecture.