By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-03 08:56:38 | Updated at 2026-08-04 07:46:22
22 hours ago
TOKYO - Two store employees who died in the explosion at the Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping complex were directed by the store’s operator to go back inside the mall after the earthquake in order to transfer cash proceeds to the safe, it was learnt on Aug 2.
Habita, a variety store based in Kumamoto, apologised to the bereaved family of 22-year-old employee Kurumi Otake, who died in the blast at the mall in Kashima, Kumamoto prefecture.
According to Otake’s family, Habita representatives attended her wake, which was held on the evening of Aug 2. They apologised to the family and admitted that the company instructed the victims to return to the store after they had already evacuated the building after the earthquake.
A relative of Otake said: “The fact that the truth has come to light is a step forward.”
According to Habita’s website, the company was founded in 1976 and operates a total of 15 variety stores in Kumamoto, Fukuoka, Saga and other prefectures.
At the time of the earthquake on July 28, there were about 3,000 customers and about 1,300 to 1,500 workers at the mall, and nearly everyone had evacuated about 30 minutes after the quake. However, some employees returned to the building and were caught in the explosion.
A total of seven people, including two Habita employees, were killed in the blast. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
