1st Disaster-Related Death Recognized over Kumamoto Quake

From Jiji

November 9 2026

KUMAMOTO – The city government of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Monday certified a woman who died following a major earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture in July as a disaster-related death, the first such recognition linked to the tremblor. 
   The recognition brought the death toll of the 7.1-maginitude quake on July 28 to 39, including additional suspected disaster-related deaths.
   The woman, who was a Yatsushiro resident in her 90s, suffered from a subdural hematoma due to a fall during the earthquake, according to the city government. She later died after experiencing a decline in physical function because of impaired consciousness.