A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck southern Kyushu island in Japan on July 28, 2026, killing at least 35 people and damaging Kumamoto Castle, a 400-year-old landmark that was already deep in a decades-long restoration.

The quake hit at approximately 4:27 pm local time, with its hypocentre — the underground point where a quake originates — classified by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) as the Kumamoto Region of Kumamoto Prefecture, at a depth of 10 kilometres. It registered a maximum intensity of 7 on Japan's seismic scale in the cities of Uki and Hikawa, the highest level on the country's 0-to-7 measurement system. Seismic intensity readings from 6+ down to 1 were recorded across a swathe of Japan from the Hokuriku region to Kyushu, according to the JMA's press release issued later that evening JMA. Beyond the castle, the earthquake caused widespread disruption: a train derailed and fell on its side in Kumamoto Prefecture, and an explosion at a shopping mall in Kumamoto killed at least two people Reuters.

Kumamoto Castle, built in 1607 by feudal lord Kato Kiyomasa, suffered collapsed sections of stone walls and minor damage to its buildings. Reuters published eyewitness footage showing a section of the castle's stone wall giving way during the tremor. The damage is a setback for an ongoing restoration that began after the 2016 Kumamoto twin earthquakes, which killed more than 275 people and caused two of the castle's walls to collapse. That restoration was expected to continue until fiscal year 2052 — and Rintaro Mitsuyasu of the Kumamoto Castle General Office told The Art Newspaper that the completion date could now be pushed back further The Art Newspaper.

At least 16 museums, galleries, and cultural facilities in Kumamoto temporarily closed following the earthquake, as first reported by the Japanese art magazine Bijutsu Techo. The Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, the Kumamoto Museum, and the Tsunagi Art Museum were among the institutions that shut their doors.

The news from inside the galleries was largely reassuring. The Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto reported no serious damage to its collection: movable exhibition walls shifted and dust fell on some works, but all affected pieces can be cleaned and restored. Akiko Sakamoto, the museum's deputy director, said the institution plans to reopen its free public spaces during the week of August 3 before gradually reopening its exhibition galleries.

Elsewhere in the prefecture, Yatsushiro Shrine suffered a collapsed gate, as shown in footage broadcast by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The earthquake adds another chapter to a region still recovering from the 2016 disaster. Kumamoto Castle, one of Japan's most visited historical sites, has long served as both a tourist destination and a symbol of the city's resilience. Its stone walls and towers have now weathered two major earthquakes in a single decade, with a restoration timeline that stretches at least another quarter-century ahead.