The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan earlier this week has climbed to at least 34, with six people seriously injured, according to the Kumamoto prefecture government. Authorities announced the updated figure on Friday, July 31, up from 25 reported in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Some local sources suggest the toll may be approaching 35 as officials continue to investigate quake-related fatalities.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck late on Tuesday, July 28, near the city of Uki in Kumamoto prefecture — a region on Japan's southern island of Kyushu that has experienced devastating seismic events before. The tremor knocked out power to roughly 40,000 homes, halted rail services, buckled roads, and triggered tsunami warnings along parts of the coastline. Buildings collapsed, fires broke out, and supply chains were badly disrupted across the region.

Nearly half of the deaths are linked to two specific incidents. At the Nippon Paper Industries mill in the city of Yatsushiro, major structural damage trapped workers inside the facility. At an Aeon shopping mall, a gas explosion — believed to have occurred approximately 30 minutes after the initial quake — destroyed much of the building; dashcam footage of the blast has since circulated widely. Military personnel have joined civilian rescue teams in clearing rubble and searching for survivors at both sites and other damaged locations.

Relief efforts are being complicated by water shortages in the summer heat, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has urged residents to remain vigilant for strong aftershocks. More than 9,100 people are reported to be sheltering in evacuation centres across the prefecture.

The scale of the disaster has prompted comparisons to a previous major earthquake that struck Kumamoto a decade ago, killing 275 people. Japan sits atop multiple tectonic plates, making it one of the most earthquake-prone countries on Earth, and the Kyushu region in particular has a long history of seismic activity. Rescue and recovery operations are ongoing as authorities work to determine the full extent of casualties and structural damage.