13 confirmed dead after Tuesday’s quake in southwestern Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday the government had confirmed that 13 people died after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto the previous day, with nearly 10,000 people staying in evacuation centers and bullet train services remaining suspended, Kyodo news agency reported.

"There are still people who are waiting to be rescued and it is a race against time," Takaichi said. "We will mobilize our full strength to save as many people as possible."

Around 4,600 members of the Self-Defense Forces had been dispatched in response to the earthquake, Kyodo cited Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi as saying, with 170 involved in rescue operations at a collapsed shopping center.

About 480 police personnel had also been dispatched from 11 prefectures. A Tokyo metropolitan police emergency rescue team specializing in disaster response headed by helicopter to participate in the search for the missing.

After the quake Tuesday afternoon, an explosion rocked a shopping mall in Kashima in Kumamoto Prefecture operated by the Aeon group. Local authorities said two women were confirmed dead, one woman was found unresponsive and five others were injured.

Around 200 people had been evacuated before the collapse of the mall's second floor.

According to the latest data, 60 aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 1 to 4 have been recorded.