Rescuers search for the missing after Japan earthquake : NPR

This aerial image shows a damaged chimney of the Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory, following an earthquake in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

Naoki Hiraoka/Kyodo News via AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Naoki Hiraoka/Kyodo News via AP

KUMAMOTO, Japan — Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 13 people and left many missing in southwestern Japan.

Bullet train services and some airport operations remained suspended and damage was still being assessed a day after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu.

“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”

About 36,900 homes were still without electricity, 9,500 homes were without gas and communication networks were not working in some areas, chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara told reporters.

More than 9,000 people left their homes to stay in more than 500 shelters, and he said power sources were being added so the evacuation centers had air conditioning. Japan has had an ongoing heat wave, and temperatures in the area were forecast to exceed 32 Celsius (90 Fahrenheit).

A vehicle passes by collapsed houses after an earthquake in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto prefecture, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

Juntaro Yokoyama/Kyodo News via AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Juntaro Yokoyama/Kyodo News via AP

Japan’s Self Defense Forces joined rescue workers in the search and rescue operations at the badly damaged Aeon Mall in the town of Kashima. The building’s second floor collapsed, trapping people, after an explosion suspected to have been caused by a gas leak. The number of people who still may be trapped was not available.

A chimney collapsed at the Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro factory, trapping people under the debris, the Kumamoto emergency team said. As of Wednesday, seven people were feared still trapped. Two survivors and two bodies were removed, officials said.

Takaichi said the federal government was preparing to deliver food and other necessities to hard-hit areas. She also offered her condolences to the victims and sympathy to their relatives, while urging those affected by the quake to take care of themselves under the hot weather.