Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Three workers have been killed and three others are unaccounted for after an earthquake and an explosion at a mall in the south of Japan.

The president of the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto says the cause of the explosion remains under investigation and around 3,000 customers and between 1,300 and 1,500 employees had been inside the building when the 6.8 magnitude earthquake happened less than an hour earlier on Tuesday.

Earlier, Japan's PM Sanae Takaichi said rescue teams were in a "race against time" as she confirmed at least 13 people were killed across the country after the quake hit the country's Kumamoto prefecture, in the south-west.

Meanwhile there are still people "in need of help" as searches continue at the Nippon Paper factory in Yatsushiro, Takaichi added.

A teacher describes how it is "chilling" that his students could have been caught up in the mall explosion had their class ended earlier while a restaurant owner describes how they have "never experienced such a big quake" in 75 years.

We're closing our live coverage there, but we'll keep our news story updated with any further developments.

Image source, Reuters

We've been hearing how Japanese residents had items shattering around them, and school children were forced to take shelter on the floor as the earthquake struck. Here's a collection of how some experienced Tuesday's 6.8 magnitude event:

"There was a sudden big noise. I couldn't stay standing. I had to crouch down. Then all the cup noodles fell all over me on the floor," says21-year-old Tokito Kitagawa after he was forced to pull over at a convenience store on his motorbike as the quake struck.

"It's actually chilling to think that if classes had ended early, and the children had gone over there sooner, they might have got caught up in [the explosion]," Kamiyo, 28, tells Reuters. The teacher had evacuated his students from a tutoring centre near the Aeon Mall around 20 minutes before the blast.

"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," says Hiroko Ogata, 75, who runs an omelette restaurant in Yatsushiro City.

Kiho Park
Reporting from Japan

Image source, Reuters

Here's a summary of what we learned from the recently concluded press conference, where reporters heard from Aeon Mall's president and other representatives:

• Three people have died, and a further three store employees are missing after Tuesday's explosion at the mall in Kumamoto, according to its president
• Akio Yoshida said the cause of the explosion remains under investigation and that any discussion would be speculative at this stage. He said the company's immediate priority is search and rescue
• A gas explosion could not have been foreseen, according to the mall's leadership. After opening in 2005, the mall sustained damage in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, but was then renovated in line with Japan's updated seismic standards, they said
• Yoshida said around 3,000 customers were inside at the time of the earthquake, as well asbetween 1,300 and 1,500 employees
• Customers were told to remain in safe locations until the shaking subsided. The explosion then occurred after an evacuation of the building

• According to the company's emergency procedures, after a major earthquake, anyone who has evacuated the building must not re-enter it in order to reduce the risk of injuries from aftershocks

Image source, Reuters

A news conference held by the Aeon Mall president Akio Yoshida has now concluded.

Before finishing, Yoshida confirms that the three people still missing are employees who had been working at stores inside the mall.

Yoshida then rounds off the conference by saying: "We sincerely apologise for this incident."

We've more updates to bring you from Aeon Mall president Akio Yoshida's news conference.

As we reported in our previous post, three people are confirmed to have been killed in the mall explosion, while another three are unaccounted for.

Taking questions from journalists, Yoshida also said that four people were transported to hospital from the mall.

Yoshida adds that one person was rescued from a restroom, and another person is in cardiac arrest.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The president of the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto, where a large explosion took place following Tuesday's earthquake, says that three people are still missing following the disaster.

A further three have been killed, Akio Yoshida tells a press conference, and another person has had a cardiac arrest.

The mall's president clarifies that Aeon mistakenly said that four people were unaccounted for following the incident. He now corrects the figure to explain three people are still missing.

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.