We're seeing photos of the damage caused by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that hit Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture a little over 24 hours ago.

Buildings are levelled and a bridge has collapsed, with rescuers seen carrying out search operations at several sites.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Four people from the Aeon Mall in Kashima town are still missing following the earthquake that struck the Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, the mall's operators have said.

Aeon says in a press release that the mall's priority immediately after the earthquake was to guide customers to safety, with employees of the building's 204 stores evacuated.

It adds that the status of approximately 2,700 employees was verified after the explosion and that the company will continue to work with authorities to rescue the missing individuals.

It adds that it expresses its "deepest condolences" to those who lost their lives in the mall's explosion, as well as its sympathies and apologies to the bereaved families and injured.

Image source, Honda Motor Co.

Honda said it will suspend operations at its Kumamoto motorcycle factory until Friday after the region was rocked by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake.

The factory is Honda's main production facility for motorcycles in Japan and has been producing the company's Super Cub bikes since 1991.

Other major plants in the western Kumamoto area have also paused operations, including the factories of electronics company Sony and semiconductor manufacturer TSMC.

The Taiwanese chip giant evacuated workers from its Kumamoto plant as a precaution after the earthquake but said it had begun resuming operations late on Tuesday.

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Japanese Prime MinisterSanae Takaichi warns it is "truly a race against time" to rescue people trapped under rubble, 24 hours after an earthquake struck the south of Japan.

Here's what to know.

Death toll rises: Authorities say 13 people have been confirmed dead after an earthquake struck at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT) on Tuesday.

Emergency response ramps up: Rescue efforts continue at the collapsed Aeon shopping mall and Nippon Paper's factory in Yatsushiro, and 4,600 personnel have been deployed as part of the emergency response. An explosion ripped through the mall about an hour after the quake.

'I thought I would die': Hiroko Ogata, a 75-year-old restaurant owner in Yatsushiro City, recalls how "all of a sudden there was a big jolt" before the tables began to move and bowls and glass shattered around her.

Historic sites damaged: The worship hall of the 19th Century Yatshushiro Shrine and the walls of Kumamoto Castle both collapsed as the earthquake caused widespread damage in the Kumamoto prefecture.

Heatstroke warning: Officials have advised rescuers and quake survivors to take precautions against heatstroke during the clean up as temperatures are expected to reach 35C. Around 7,700 people have been evacuated from their homes

Image source, Getty Images

Kanzo Matsumoto, who operates a hot spring inn in Yatsushiro, has called it "the strongest quake [he's] ever experienced".

"I'm not sure if [the region] will be able to recover from the damage," the 73-year-old tells AFP news agency.

Chiharu Hara, who was at work when the quake hit, recalls her office "swaying violently side to side".

"I was afraid it would collapse. Everyone panicked," Hara, 35, tells AFP.

"The shaking reminded me of the Kumamoto quake [in 2016] and I was frightened,” Hiroki Shimoda, a local official at the town of Mifune, told the Associated Press.

In April 2016, two earthquakes - magnitudes 6.5 and 7.3 - struck Kumamoto two days apart, killing more than 270 people.

Image source, Reuters

As rescue efforts continue, officials have warned of another hot day across Japan – including in Kumamoto, where temperatures are expected to hit 35C.

Officials have advised rescuers and quake survivors to take precautions against heatstroke during cleanup work, including by taking breaks and having adequate amounts of fluids and salt.

Some 300 air conditioning units will be flown to Kumamoto by 16:00 local time and distributed in the worst-hit areas, Japan's Defence Minister Shinjirō Koizumi said in a post on X.

Takaichi's press conference wrapped up after she spoke for a few minutes.

We're expecting to hear from Akio Yoshida, the president of Aeon, at another press conference at 16:30 local time (07:30 GMT), according to Kyodo news agency.

As reported earlier, three people have died after an Aeon mall in Kumamoto collapsed in the quake.

We'll continue to bring you the latest lines as we get them. Stick with us.

There are around 450 evacuation centres currently open, and some 7,700 people have been evacuated, Takaichi says.

She adds that they're taking measures to provide the evacuation centres with food, water, air-conditioning and power generators.

"As the evacuation period drags on, it is absolutely important to ensure that conditions in the evacuation centres remain favourable," she says. Authorities have warned that temperatures are expected to hit 35C in Kumamoto today.

Takaichi adds that they've deployed 4,600 personnel for the rescue efforts.

Around 2,000 of them are from the police force, while about 1,000 are from the fire service.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Rescue efforts are bring carried out at both the collapsed Aeon shopping mall and Nippon Paper’s factory in Yatsushiro.

"Although more than 20 hours have passed since the earthquake, there are those still in need of help," Takaichi says. "This is truly a race against time."

Takaichi has said there's no change to the death toll and number injured. Thirteen people have been reported dead so far.

A press conference by Prime Minister Takaichi about the earthquake has just begun. We're expecting her to give updates on casualties and rescue efforts.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest lines.

News outlet NHK has reported that two people have been found in a state of "cardiac arrest". The term, in Japan, usually indicates there are no signs of life in the person but their death has yet to be confirmed.

The two were found after at least 18 houses collapsed in the town of Hikawa. NHK have cited Kumamoto authorities as saying there are residents still trapped in two of these houses.

The public broadcaster also reports that firefighters and Self-Defence Forces are conducting rescue operations and clearing the damaged buildings.

Authorities have said that a total of 13 people have been confirmed dead so far.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The Aeon mall that partially collapsed after the earthquake had reopened on 13 June as a revamped shopping complex.

It was first opened in 2005, but temporarily closed in 2016 after it was damaged during deadly earthquakes, which killed nearly 300 people in the region.

The June reopening of the Aeon mall in Kumamoto was meant to mark its 21st anniversary - as well as 10 years since reconstruction efforts after the quakes.

The sprawling shopping complex houses around 200 stores and some 5,000 parking spaces.

Aeon shopping malls are common across Japan, with around 200 of them nationwide, according to the company website.

The Kumamoto branch, where two people have died, contains a range of fashion stores, a cinema, a bookshop and food court.

Stretching across two floors, it sits just north of the Midorikawa river in the city's south east.

Residents in Kumamoto prefecture are waking up today to the aftermath of the massive quake. Here are the latest images from the scene:

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Chie Kobayashi
BBC News in Japan

Hiroko Ogata, 75, runs a popular omelet rice restaurant in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture.

She was in the restaurant, which had closed for the day, when the earthquake hit.

"All of sudden there was a big jolt, and I was surprised and scared," she tells the BBC.

"I have lived here for 75 years, but I have never experienced such a big quake. I thought I would die."

"I went under one of the tables right away, but the table moved largely towards right, left, right, left… with me!"

Bowls and glasses from the kitchen shelf started falling and shattering on the floor, she added.

Today she's picking up the pieces at her restaurant - though continuing aftershocks are making her nervous.

"The whole place is messy, and I don’t know where to stand. But we have to earn our living by restarting our restaurant as soon as possible, so I am cleaning the place today," she says.

"A little I work, then we have another aftershock… so it is going so slowly. If we keep having this many aftershocks It will be very stressful."

Image source, JIJI Press / AFP via Getty Images

We have more from the Newsday interview with Chantel Mohar, the tourist who witnessed the earthquake.

She says many people were standing outside to stay safe, and some were throwing up. She says they appeared "calm, but very scared".

At one point, she recalls, their bus driver got out to direct traffic.

Water was a concern, as power was out and they could not get bottles of water from vending machines.

"They did a great job at taking care of us. They were really concerned about water," she said of the guides.

"We're here and we're just happy to be here."

Chantel Mohar, an American tourist, was in Kumamoto with her family when the earthquake struck yesterday.

They were travelling on a full tour bus when all their phones went off with earthquake alerts.

"There was just a lot of rocking and confusion," she told the BBC's Newsday programme.

What was meant to be a 2.5-hour ride turned into nine hours, as the bus was made to detour onto an evacuation route.

She says they saw devastation caused by the tremors, including smashed cars and collapsed homes.

Chie Kobayashi
BBC News in Japan

I've just spoken to a woman whose cake shop is located about 600m (660 yards) from the Aeon mall that partially collapsed during the earthquake.

An explosion ripped through the mall about an hour after the quake.

"I couldn’t tell which sound was the sound of earthquake, and which was the sound of explosion," says the woman, who was sitting in the back office of her shop when the quake struck.

There were no customers in the shop at the time.

"All I could do was hold the chair I was sitting in and big jolts came one after another," she says, appearing to still be in shock.

"I didn’t know what to feel, I couldn’t even feel scared in such a situation. Even now I don’t know what to feel, and I don’t know how to explain."

She has closed her cake shop for today, and there is no visible damage except for things that have fallen from the shelf.

She says she would have to check if her ovens are still functioning before deciding if she can go back to work.

Osmond Chia
Business reporter

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

Operations at a Kumamoto semiconductor plant run by Taiwanese chip giant TSMC are "gradually resuming" after the lab recorded a "maximum seismic intensity of level 5", TSMC tells the BBC.

All personnel are safe, TSMC said.

The company has also conducted post-earthquake inspections, and has confirmed the structures to be safe, it said, adding that further assessments continue.

"As there may still be occasional aftershocks, parts of the construction works are suspended as a safety precaution," TSMC said.