Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday visited the earthquake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan as residents began clearing debris from damaged homes while facing scorching temperatures and ongoing water shortages.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu last Tuesday, killing 38 people, according to prefectural officials. Among the victims was a person who apparently died from heat stroke while sheltering inside a car. Authorities are still investigating the cause of another death.
Residents placed piles of rubble, broken furniture and damaged household appliances outside their homes for collection. Construction of temporary housing also began in the towns of Uki and Hikawa for people displaced by the disaster.
More than 46,000 households were still without running water on Monday, while many communities were also experiencing fuel shortages. The Japan Meteorological Agency forecast temperatures to approach 40 degrees Celsius, raising concerns over heat-related illnesses.
More than 8,500 people remained in emergency shelters, including community centres, school gymnasiums and classrooms, many of which lack air conditioning. Others continued to stay in cars parked near town halls and parks or outside their damaged homes.
Disaster experts have long warned that overcrowded shelters with limited sanitation and privacy can make conditions more difficult for displaced people.
During her visit, Takaichi toured one of the area's better-equipped shelters, which had cardboard beds, partitions and air conditioning. However, the visit drew criticism on social media, with some users saying it did not reflect the conditions in most evacuation centres.
Meanwhile, a local retailer acknowledged that it had instructed two employees, who later died in an explosion at a collapsed shopping mall, to return to the building to secure the day's sales proceeds.
Executives of Habita, which operated a store inside the collapsed Aeon Mall in Kashima, attended the funeral wake of 22-year-old employee Kurumi Otake on Sunday and apologised to her family.
Company sales manager Goji Yuse admitted the employees had been asked to return to the store if it was safe to place the money in a secure safe.
"My daughter is not coming back," Otake's mother told company officials through tears.
The mall operator believes the explosion was caused by a gas leak after about 3,000 shoppers had already been evacuated following the earthquake, though some employees remained inside the building. Rescue teams pulled five survivors from the rubble and recovered the bodies of seven others.
Authorities said the earthquake injured 114 people, destroyed around 700 homes and damaged more than 11,300 buildings across Kumamoto Prefecture.