Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Japan's Kyushu Island, Killing at Least 13

A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Kyushu, a southwestern island of Japan, with reports emerging Tuesday into Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The quake caused significant structural damage, including the collapse of a shopping mall and severe damage to a paper mill/factory, as well as damage to houses in the affected area. As rescue operations progressed, the confirmed death toll rose to at least 13 people, according to CBS News, BBC News, NBC News, and NPR. An earlier Associated Press report had cited at least 3 deaths, indicating the toll increased as search efforts continued. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the death count of at least 13 on Wednesday. Soldiers and emergency workers were deployed to search through the collapsed shopping mall and damaged houses for survivors, with officials describing the effort as a "race against time" to locate people trapped beneath rubble. As of the latest reports, rescue operations remained ongoing, with additional people reported injured or missing beyond the confirmed fatalities. The exact number of people still trapped, missing, or injured was not consistently specified across sources. It remains unresolved how many additional casualties may be found as search efforts continue, and the full extent of structural damage across the affected region has not yet been detailed.