Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has expressed concern that rescuers are racing against time to find survivors after a powerful earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Tuesday afternoon. At least 23 people have been confirmed dead and many more remain missing, with around 3,000 customers still unaccounted for at the Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake caused widespread damage, including collapsed houses and a paper factory, and left nearly 34,900 homes without electricity and over 15,000 without running water. Rescuers from Japan's Self-Defence Forces and Taiwan are joining forces to search for survivors in the Kumamoto area of Kyushu island.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The article presents a balanced and factual report on the earthquake and its aftermath, using neutral language to describe the situation. However, the inclusion of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's quote, which emphasizes the 'race against time' for rescue efforts, slightly tilts the article towards a sympathetic tone for the government's response.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.05 for article 32 · logged 2026-07-30
Japan's PM says rescuers in 'race against time' after powerful earthquake
Several people still unaccounted for at shopping mall and paper factory
Soldiers and emergency workers combed through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivors on Wednesday after a powerful earthquake that killed at least 23 people and left many missing in southwestern Japan.
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that → say → Japan
Bullet train services and some airport operations remained suspended and damage was still being assessed a day after the magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu late Tuesday afternoon.
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earthquake → remain → Kyushu
It remained unclear how many people were missing.
uncertain
people → remain → ?
Japan's Self-Defence Forces were joining rescue workers in the search and rescue operations.
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Forces → join → operations
Firefighters from Taiwan were also arriving to help with the effort.
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Firefighters → arrive → effort
"There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it's a race against time," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.
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Takaichi → be → time
"We will go all-out to find and rescue as many people as we can."
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we → go → people
Some of the most serious damage was at the Aeon Mall shopping centre in Kashima, a city bustling with thousands of people when the quake struck.
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quake → bustle → people
The company said some 3,000 customers were evacuated to a parking lot before a gas explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some people were still working.
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people → say → mall
The mall's second floor collapsed, trapping people.
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floor → collapse → people
Witnesses said the explosion shook the area as much as the quake.
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explosion → say → quake
Three people remained missing, while four deaths were confirmed at the mall site, according to Aeon.
uncertain
deaths → remain → Aeon
"We take it seriously that an explosion happened and precious lives were lost," Aeon president Akio Yoshida told a news conference in Kumamoto, where he bowed deeply along with two other executives.
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he → take → executives
Kiyoshi Matsunaga, 74, who lives in the mall's neighbourhood and was at a supermarket just a few blocks away, said he thought he was going to die.
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he → live → supermarket
He stopped in his tracks when the shaking began while he was pushing his cart toward a cash register.
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he → stop → register
Things scattered from the shelves.
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Things → scatter → shelves
He could not move, he recalled.
uncertain
he → move → ?
"I was frightened," he said.
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he → frighten → ?
In nearby Yatsushino, a chimney collapse at a Nippon Paper Industries factory killed five people while seven others were rescued from the debris, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government disaster team.
uncertain
others → kill → team
Four people were still believed to be trapped there.
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people → believe → ?
Nearly 34,900 homes were still without electricity and some 15,000 were without running water, Kumamoto officials said.
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officials → say → water
More than 8,800 people left their homes to stay in more than 400 shelters, where power sources were being added so the evacuation centres had air conditioning, as Japan deals with an ongoing heat wave.
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Japan → leave → wave
Aerial police footage showed some homes in residential areas were completely flattened, including a few that crumbled into a nearby river.
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that → show → river
A pair of temple gates at a 16th-century Buddhist temple, which had just been repaired five years ago, collapsed.
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which → repair → temple
Yuki Kiyozumi, deputy chief priest at the temple, recalled how she had to crawl on the floor because the shaking was so violent.
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shaking → recall → floor
"I don't even know if or how we can rebuild again," she said, while cleaning up damaged ornaments and furniture.
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she → know → ornaments
Takaichi said the federal government was preparing to deliver food and other necessities to hard-hit areas.
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government → say → areas
She also offered her condolences for the victims and to their relatives, while urging those affected by the quake to take care of themselves under the hot weather.
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She → offer → weather
At least 13 dead after earthquake shakes southwestern Japan
- Video
Earthquake shakes Japan, some victims trapped in collapsed mall
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victims → shake → mall
The Kyushu Shinkansen bullet train remained suspended Wednesday.
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train → remain → ?
Aso Kumamoto Airport was resuming operations after closing one runway Tuesday, but some airlines cancelled flights as a precautionary measure.
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airlines → resume → measure
Kumamoto was hit with a deadly quake in 2016 that killed at least 50 people and caused damage to several buildings, including the very same Aeon mall.
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that → hit → mall
