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More damage to castle walls. :( -- Kirk
Kumamoto Castle walls 'came crashing down'
An eyewitness described his shock at the castle walls falling in the magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Japan.

This article has a video, apparently taken on the scene with a phone, showing the extent of the destruction at the Aeon Mall. Only physical destruction -- no carnage, but horrifying nonetheless. The report says that 20 to 30 people are unaccounted for.
Hoping for miracles.
Here's a ChatGPT translation of the text:
--- start translation ---
Explosion at AEON Mall Kumamoto; at Least Several People Confirmed Dead
At least several people have been confirmed dead following an explosion at a large shopping mall in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture.
According to the fire department and other authorities, an emergency call was received at around 6:00 p.m. on the 28th reporting white smoke and the sound of an explosion at AEON Mall Kumamoto in Kashima.
Part of the second floor reportedly collapsed.
According to police sources, at least several deaths have been confirmed.
The whereabouts of an estimated 20 to 30 people believed to be mall employees remain unknown. They are thought to be trapped inside the building.
Authorities believe they may have been employees who remained in the mall after customers were evacuated.
Firefighters are working to extinguish the fire and rescue those trapped inside.
--- end translation ---
-- Kirk
「イオンモール熊本」で爆発　少なくとも数人の死者確認
　熊本県嘉島町にある大型ショッピングモールで起きた爆発で、少なくとも数人の死者が確認されたということです。　消防などによりますと、28日午後6時ごろ、嘉島町にある「イオンモール熊本」で「白い煙があがり

Here's a ChatGPT translation of this article. It mentions people in “cardiopulmonary arrest.” If you've been in Japan for a while, you may know that only physicians are qualified to formally certify a death, and journalists hesitate to report someone as having been found dead without such formal confirmation. So, when an emergency worker or police officer finds a person with no vital signs, the person is reported as being in “cardiopulmonary arrest” until a physician can officially declare them dead. :(
--- start translation ---
Three Dead at AEON Mall Following Explosion After Kumamoto Earthquake; Search for Missing People Continues
Magnitude-7 shaking recorded in Kumamoto Prefecture
July 29, 2026, 6:11 a.m.
Updated July 29, 2026, 7:35 a.m.
Police, firefighters, and other emergency personnel continued searching through the night for people whose safety remained unconfirmed following the earthquake that registered a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Kumamoto Prefecture.
According to the local fire department, three people, including a woman in her twenties, have been confirmed dead at AEON Mall Kumamoto in Kashima, where an explosion occurred after the earthquake.
One employee and four customers were also taken to the hospital. They were reportedly conscious. Authorities have received information that other employees may still be trapped inside the building. A senior government official said on the night of July 28 that a gas leak may have caused the explosion.
At the Nippon Paper Industries Yatsushiro Mill in Yatsushiro, part of a smokestack broke off and collapsed, trapping 11 people. Two were rescued but were in cardiopulmonary arrest. The condition of the remaining nine people is unknown.
The effects on infrastructure are also spreading across the prefecture, including water outages, power failures, and disruptions to transportation.
The Japan Meteorological Agency is urging people to remain alert for earthquakes of a similar magnitude for approximately one week.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, as of 7:00 a.m. on July 29, “Emergency Safety Measures,” the highest-level evacuation alert, had been issued for more than 90,000 people in two cities in Kumamoto Prefecture. Evacuation orders had also been issued for more than 260,000 people in Kumamoto and Nagasaki prefectures.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake had characteristics similar to the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, which also produced shaking of intensity 7.
“People should remain alert for earthquakes producing shaking as strong as intensity 7 for approximately one week,” the agency said. “Strong earthquakes occur particularly frequently during the first two or three days after the initial earthquake.”
By 11:00 p.m. on July 28, 12 earthquakes producing shaking of intensity 4 or greater had been recorded.
The earthquake has also caused extensive disruption to essential services.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, approximately 140,000 households in 17 municipalities in Kumamoto Prefecture had lost their water supply. In Yatsushiro, all 60,000 households in the city were affected. The ministry asked the Japan Water Works Association to dispatch water-supply trucks to the disaster area.
Kyushu Electric Power reported that 41,730 households in Kumamoto Prefecture were without electricity as of the early hours of July 29.
Transportation operators have also been forced to suspend services.
The Kyushu Shinkansen will remain suspended along its entire route on July 29. According to the Kumamoto City Transportation Bureau, streetcars will operate on all routes from the beginning of service, but will travel more slowly than usual to ensure safety.
Japan Airlines has cancelled 11 flights arriving at or departing from Kumamoto Airport, while All Nippon Airways has cancelled two flights.
The Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts a high of 34°C in the Kumamoto region on July 29. Beginning on July 30, the area is expected to come under a high-pressure system, bringing several consecutive days with temperatures of 35°C or higher. The agency is urging people to stay hydrated and take precautions against heatstroke.
This was the first earthquake in Japan to produce shaking of intensity 7 since the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake.
On July 28, the Japan Meteorological Agency officially named the disaster the “2026 Kumamoto Earthquake.”
-- end translation ---
--- Kirk
熊本地震、爆発のイオンモールで3人死亡　不明者の捜索続く - 日本経済新聞
熊本県で最大震度7の揺れを観測した地震で、警察や消防などは29日、夜を徹して安否不明者らの捜索活動を続けた。地元消防によると、地震後に爆発が発生した同県嘉島町の「イオンモール熊本」では20代女性を含む3人の死...

I'll follow this up with more recent reports translated from Japanese. I'm afraid the new will not be good. :( -- Kirk
First deaths confirmed in Kumamoto mall explosion
The blast came after the area was rocked by a magnitude 7.1 quake that registered up to a shindo 7, the highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale.

I saw a separate report that some deaths had already been confirmed. :( -- Kirk
Aeon: Explosion reported at Kumamoto mall, many people trapped | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says many people could be trapped inside the Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima Town. An explosion was reported there following the quake, and the building's second floor has collapsed.

The two car icons you see take you to images of damaged roads. See my previous post for a link to the map and an explanation about how to use it:
https://www.facebook.com/Kumamotoi/posts/pfbid02y6CEvY3sjvMqM25YMHN91C1zc5HVszPQ61Pif8MCwUeC7gPST7v2mjpoPVi655pCl
-- Kirk

Well, unfortunately, there's quite a lot of damage but I think this map should help you get a sense of what sorts of damage have occurred and where. The map is only in Japanese but AI and other tools should make it fairly easy to use. For example, I clicked on one of the "NEW" items in Yatsushiro, took the screenshot you see, copied the Japanese and popped it in ChatGPT and got this:
---- Start ChatGPT translation ---
Matsuejomachi, Yatsushiro City
Part of a Structure at Yatsushiro Castle Ruins Park Collapses
As of 6:43 p.m. on July 28
This footage was taken at Yatsushiro Castle Ruins Park in Yatsushiro City at around 6:45 p.m. on July 28.
Part of a structure has collapsed.
--- end translation ---
Sadly, there's enough damage to explore on this map to keep you busy for a while. :(
-- Kirk
https://news.web.nhk/bousai-map/saigai/?lat=32.6574&lng=130.7117&zoom=9&markerLat=32.4999&markerLng=130.7162&infoId=manual_20260728175319_119

There seems to have been an explosion at the Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima (near Kumamoto City). The image is from this live feed:
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2832102
-- Kirk
P.S. I still don't know the details about the explosion but after hearing that it occurred significantly after the quakes and that many people had already been evacuated I'm now hearing on NHK that people are trapped inside.

Got an email from my university (Kumamoto Gakuen University). All classes scheduled for tomorrow are cancelled. Those of you working at other educational institutions may also find that classes have been canceled; please try to get confirmation directly from your workplace. -- Kirk

The link will take you to live video. Fortunately you can use the seek bar to go back in time and check out what they have been talking about. Sadly, the quake seems to have caused some serious fires (screenshot from video) near the epicenter. -- Kirk
(Just felt another little quake while writing this.)
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2832102

Kirk again. Unfortunately, I didn't quite realize the severity of the quake when I posted just now. If you look at this English page you'll see that two locations had level 7 shaking on the Japanese scale; that's the highest possible. Mashiki, which experienced level 7 shaking twice in 2016 was spared this time but had 6+ shaking -- surely enough to cause damage. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we are going to get lots of damage reports in the coming hours. Just hope we don't have any more big quakes.
https://www.data.jma.go.jp/multi/quake/quake_detail.html?eventID=20260728163528&lang=en

Earthquake news:
--- ChatGPT translation ---
At approximately 4:27 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, an earthquake registering a maximum intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale was observed in Kumamoto Prefecture.
Epicenter: Kumamoto region, Kumamoto Prefecture
Magnitude: 7.1
Depth: Approximately 10 km
A tsunami advisory is currently in effect.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an Earthquake Early Warning for this earthquake.
--- end translation ---
As I was writing this I felt another, smaller quake that also set off my phone. The first one was long and powerful but our house seems to be pretty much OK (a couple of things fell over but, otherwise . . .). I went to check up on my wife visiting a friend down the road and found a phone line down, blocking traffic. I was able to rig the line up so that the traffic could flow again (Super Kirk, to the rescue! [a brief moment to act upon my long-harbored savior complex ; ]). That's why this post of mine is a little late.
Hopefully, we've seen the worst of it and this is not a prequel to the main show.
熊本県熊本地方でM7.1の地震　最大震度7　津波注意報を発表 - ウェザーニュース
7月28日(火)16時27分頃、熊本県で最大震度7を観測する地震がありました。 震源地は熊本県熊本地方(長崎の東80km付近)で、震源の深さは約10km、地震の規模(マグニチュード)は7.1と推定されます。 津波注意報を発表中です。この...

There have been quite a few events in the news recently related to wrongful convictions and the process to overturn them. In this case, as in many others, justice was delayed by a system that allowed prosecutors to appeal. The system has been amended recently but there's concern that loopholes in the new law will allow such foot dragging to continue. -- Kirk
Editorial: Japan's revised retrial law fails victims of wrongful convictions
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260724/p2a/00m/0op/018000c
Japan gov't, prefecture ordered to pay family of man acquitted of 1985 murder
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260727/p2g/00m/0na/032000c
Japan gov't, prefecture ordered to pay family of man acquitted of 1985 murder - The Mainichi
FUKUOKA (Kyodo) -- A Japanese court on Monday ordered the central government and Kumamoto Prefecture to pay damages totaling 23 million yen ($141,000)

Kirk here. I reported about this earlier. Here's a follow-up.
--- ChatGPT translation ---
The Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun reported that, when investigating experts and other knowledgeable individuals in Japan, the Field Intelligence Unit collected information not only about their ideological beliefs, including their “patriotism” and “attitudes toward the Self-Defense Forces,” but also personal information such as their “sexual preferences” and “relationships with members of the opposite sex.” It compiled this information into reports covering several thousand people.
Defense Minister Koizumi said, “I must refrain from commenting on the details of the Field Intelligence Unit’s information-gathering activities, as doing so could risk revealing its intelligence-gathering capabilities.” In response to claims that the minister had not been briefed on these activities, he added, “The necessary information has been reported.”
--- end translation ---
It's not often that the Kumanichi gets a national scoop like this. I can only imagine that local university faculty were questioned and that the matter got picked up somehow by the paper.
「不適切活動ない」と小泉防衛相　自衛隊が「愛国心調査」との報道で：朝日新聞
　陸上自衛隊の「現地情報隊」が、大学教授やNPO法人代表ら市民を対象に、「愛国心」や「対自衛隊感情」といった思想信条の情報を組織的に収集しているなどと熊本日日新聞が報じたことについて、小泉進次郎・防衛…

More police-related news. Not exactly edifying but clearly Kumamoto-related so I decided to share it. -- Kirk
Two Kumamoto cops resign over on-duty sex in police station nap room - TokyoReporter
Kumamoto Prefectural Police have disciplined a male and female officer after they were found engaging in sexual acts inside a police station while on duty

Something very similar just happened in my hometown of Madison, Wisconsin (USA). The difference is that in Madison that guy with the knife was (according to the report I heard) shot in the head after he was down. -- Kirk
Man, 21, shot by police following armed robbery at Kumamoto convenience store - TokyoReporter
Police in Koshi City shot and arrested a 21-year-old man after he robbed a convenience store at knifepoint and engaged in a tense standoff on Wednesday

Sunken ship filmed near Ushibuka. -- Kirk
WWII sinking of Japanese light cruiser remembered 82 years on as divers capture video - The Mainichi
AMAKUSA, Kumamoto -- Divers successfully filmed what appears to be the wreck of the former Imperial Japanese Navy's light cruiser Nagara on July 21, 8

Not the kind of thing that happens every day in Kumamoto. I'm glad the kid wasn't killed. -- Kirk
Dramatic Video Shows Police Shooting Knife-Wielding Robbery Suspect
A police officer shot and wounded a 21-year-old man who allegedly robbed a convenience store in Koshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, and then approached officers with a kitchen knife on the evening of July 22.

Kirk here with a concerning article from the Kumanichi. The thrust of it is that surveillance efforts that were to be focused on foreign threats may be, if the article is correct, being directed toward Japanese nationals, particularly university professors.
In the U.S., J.D. Vance said:
--- start quote ---
There is a wisdom in what Richard Nixon said approximately 40 to 50 years ago. He said, and I quote, 'The professors are the enemy.'
--- end quote ---
I quote Vance not because I agree with him but because his rhetoric is a good example, in my view, of the thought process behind the targeting of academics. Egg heads (even me sometimes) are the kinds of people who point to a naked emperor and blurt out "that guy's not wearing any clothes." Such people are not appreciated by emperors who are trying to convince you to see their fancy, patriotic threads.
By the way, this is not specific to Kumamoto but, aside from the fact that the article appeared in the Kumanichi, there are plenty of connections to Kumamoto, including protests against military escalation led by university professors here.
--- start ChatGPT translation ---
Exclusive: JGSDF Intelligence Unit Allegedly Investigated “Patriotism” and Collected Personal Information on Thousands of Domestic Experts and Others—Possible Departure from Civilian Control
Distributed Thursday, July 23, at 11:39 a.m.
Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun
It was learned on July 22, through interviews with former unit members and related documents, that the Local Intelligence Unit, the foreign-intelligence division of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Military Intelligence Command, based at Camp Asaka in Tokyo and Saitama, is believed to have systematically investigated and collected information concerning the thoughts and beliefs of Japanese citizens—including university professors and representatives of nonprofit organizations—under headings such as “patriotism” and “attitude toward the Self-Defense Forces.”
Although the unit’s original mission is to conduct intelligence activities overseas, it has been carrying out human intelligence operations within Japan without a clear legal basis. The information collected may cover several thousand individuals. The unit’s activities are reportedly unknown even to the defense minister and other politicians and government officials, raising concerns that they may constitute a departure from civilian control.
The Local Intelligence Unit was established in 2007 for the purpose of conducting operations overseas, following lessons learned from the Self-Defense Forces’ deployment to Iraq beginning in 2003, where the forces had lacked sufficient local intelligence. The unit is based at Camp Asaka and, according to people familiar with it, consists of approximately 50 to 60 personnel. In practice, however, most of its members are reportedly engaged in collecting the personal information of civilians within Japan.
--- end ChatGPT translation ---
【独自】陸自情報部隊が「愛国心」など調査か　国内有識者ら対象に個人情報収集　数千人分、シビリアンコントロール逸脱も（熊本日日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース
　陸上自衛隊中央情報隊（東京・埼玉、朝霞駐屯地）の対外情報部門「現地情報隊」が、日本人の大学教授やNPO法人代表ら市民を対象に、「愛国心」や「対自衛隊感情」といった思想信条の情報を組織的に調査・収集

Somehow, this museum in Kumamoto City has flown under my radar. Looks interesting. Anyone been there? -- Kirk
--- start quote ---
Tonomura intentionally put ‘International’ in the name of his new Mingei museum in Kumamoto. He wrote in the Kumamoto Mingei bulletin, Vol. 1 and 2 (Sept. 1965 & Feb.1966), that the reason was his museum must of course reflect regional characteristics, but should also work on a more global stance by exchanging information, exhibitions and cultural activities with folk craft museums from other countries. As part of his belief in realizing the universal qualities of Yanagi’s Mingei philosophy, Tonomura conducted various Mingei researches to, for example, Okinawa, mainland prefectures along the Japan Sea, Shikoku Island, and was also internationally active by going on excursions to countries in South America, Europe, as well as India, Nepal and Taiwan. The connections that he cultivated in many countries at the time, are continuously being developed as of today. Tonomura believed, all his life, that it was his mission to establish regional Mingeikans (folk craft museums) all over Japan, and he felt a strong responsibility to reach his goal.
--- end quote ---
https://kumamoto-mingeikan.com/english/