A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28, 2026, causing the evacuation of Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima around 4:27 p.m. [1, 2, 3, 4] By 5 p.m., customers, employees, and tenant workers had been evacuated from the mall. [1] Despite Aeon’s internal rules barring any re-entry after evacuation during seismic events [5, 6, 7], some employees were allowed by on-site staff to return temporarily to retrieve valuables such as car keys and mobile phones and to close cash registers. [5, 8, 1, 6, 2, 7, 3, 4]
The absence of procedures in Aeon's disaster manuals and drills covering retrieval of personal items or for employees unable to go home led to on-site staff making discretionary decisions to permit re-entry. [5, 6, 7, 4] Aeon’s president, Akio Yoshida, initially denied on July 29 that staff had re-entered after evacuation but later acknowledged it following internal interviews. [5, 6, 7]
At about 5:50 p.m. on July 28, an explosion occurred in the mall, killing seven tenant employees. [1, 2, 3, 4] Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry reported on August 5 that liquefied petroleum gas was the likely cause of the blast. [1]
Aeon announced plans to promptly provide compensation to the families of the deceased without waiting for legal liability to be determined. [1] Aeon Mall President Keiji Ono said, "We have met with bereaved relatives to explain the circumstances and apologize." [1] The company also said it will revise emergency response manuals and rules to clarify post-evacuation procedures, including allowing employees to keep valuables while working to prevent re-entry after evacuation. [5, 6, 7, 4]
Additionally, Aeon will establish an accident investigation committee with external experts to determine the full cause and propose measures to prevent similar incidents. [1, 6, 7, 4]
