A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck south-west Japan on Tuesday, trapping some people under rubble, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, BBC reports.
The quake hit Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT) and after shocks have continued to rumble.
At a large and popular shopping mall in the Kumamoto prefecture, the second floor collapsed, trapping people inside the centre, while a chimney fell at a paper factory.
Footage aired by national broadcaster NHK showed cracked roads and bridges and several buildings on fire.
Japan, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. It experiences about 1,500 quakes a year.
