Executives at the cosmetics company Habita confirmed that two employees were instructed to return to the store inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto to place the day’s cash receipts in a safe following last week’s earthquake. Both workers were killed in the subsequent gas explosion. On Sunday, company executives apologized to the family of one of the victims, Kurumi Otake, during her wake. They also provided the family with a written explanation of the events.
A male relative described Otake as “a bright, friendly young woman who was always smiling. That’s how I remembered her when I saw her.” He said Otake had initially evacuated the building after the earthquake and happened to run into her aunt and cousin outside while they were shopping. She told them she had to return to the store because she needed to put the day’s sales money in the safe, he said.
Employee Told by Relatives Not To Go Back to Habita Store
The relative said Otake’s aunt and cousin were surprised when she told them she needed to return to the store, as they had all evacuated the building after the earthquake. He said they tried to persuade her not to go back. “They told her, ‘It’s dangerous. You shouldn’t go back.’ But Kurumi was a very responsible person. I think that when the company told her to do it, she felt she had to go,” he said.
Officials said search and rescue operations ended Saturday at Aeon Mall Kumamoto in Kashima. Seven people were killed and five others injured in the gas explosion that followed the quake. According to authorities, the site had been checked multiple times, and no reports of anyone still unaccounted for had been received. Separately, at another Aeon mall in Uki City, a man in his 80s was crushed by falling debris. He was confirmed dead on Sunday.
Image: Japan Meteorological Agency
Kumamoto Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 38
On Sunday, officials in Kumamoto said a woman in her 70s who developed heatstroke while taking shelter in a car had died. The death toll has now reached 38, although authorities are still investigating whether two of those deaths were related to the quake. More than 9,200 people remain displaced in shelters, and tens of thousands of households are dealing with disruptions to utilities as recovery efforts continue across the affected areas.
The powerful quake struck Kumamoto Prefecture’s Kumamoto region at 4:27 p.m. on July 28, registering a maximum intensity of 7 — the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale — in Uki city and Hikawa town. The epicenter was located about 16 kilometers underground. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) measured the earthquake at magnitude 7.1, while the U.S. Geological Survey recorded it as magnitude 6.8. The quake caused widespread damage across the region, triggering evacuations and disrupting essential services.
