TOKYO: A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity, disrupting transport services, damaging infrastructure, and prompting widespread evacuations.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said authorities were assessing the full extent of the damage, confirming that injuries had already been reported.
Power outages and infrastructure damage reported
Speaking in Tokyo, Prime Minister Takaichi said emergency teams were responding to multiple incidents across the affected region.
“We have already been informed that people have been injured,” she said.
The prime minister added that power outages, fires, damaged roads and bridges, and collapsed buildings had been reported, urging residents to move to safe locations and follow evacuation instructions.
According to Japan’s disaster management agency, more than 150,000 people were instructed to evacuate to designated shelters.
Thousands left without electricity
Utility company Kyushu Electric Power said approximately 40,000 households lost electricity following the earthquake.
Public broadcaster NHK aired footage showing collapsed buildings, fires, cracked roads, damage to elevated highways, and a derailed freight train.
Officials also confirmed that Kumamoto Airport temporarily closed its runway, while airlines diverted and cancelled flights.
Rail operator JR Kyushu suspended train services, including its high-speed Shinkansen bullet trains, causing major travel disruptions across the region.
Aftershock warning issued
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned residents to remain alert for strong aftershocks over the next week, cautioning that heavy rain or unstable ground could increase the risk of landslides.
Emergency earthquake warnings were issued for the prefectures of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, and Miyazaki on the island of Kyushu.
The JMA initially issued a tsunami warning for waves of up to 1 metre (3.3 feet) but later lifted the advisory after further assessment.
Businesses suspend operations as precaution
Several major companies temporarily halted operations following the earthquake.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) evacuated workers from its local facility as a precautionary measure, while electronics manufacturer Sony said it was assessing conditions at its nearby plant.
Telecommunications providers KDDI and NTT Docomo also reported disruptions to mobile phone services caused by power failures and damaged transmission lines.
No issues reported at nuclear facilities
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority confirmed that no abnormalities had been detected at nuclear power stations in the affected region.
Japan is among the world’s most earthquake-prone countries due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where several tectonic plates meet. The country experiences frequent seismic activity and accounts for roughly 20% of the world’s earthquakes measuring magnitude 6.0 or greater.
The latest quake comes a decade after the devastating 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, which killed 275 people, injured more than 2,700 others, and caused widespread destruction, including significant damage to Kumamoto Castle.
