The powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Tuesday has caused widespread disruption to regional economic activity, damaging commercial facilities and factories, and impacting logistics.
A explosion occurred at a shopping mall run by Aeon in the town of Kashima, leaving at least three people dead as rescue operations continued on Wednesday, Aeon President Akio Yoshida said.
A smokestack collapsed on Tuesday at a Nippon Paper Industries¡¯ plant in the city of Yatsushiro, which registered upper shindo 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, causing 11 people to be trapped inside. Seven of them ¡ª of whom five died ¡ª have been discovered, while?four are still missing, according to the Kumamoto Prefectural Government.
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