Image source, Getty Images

The Kumamoto prefecture is no stranger to earthquakes, and has been hit by powerful ones in the past.

In 2016, the prefecture was struck by a series of earthquakes. These included a magnitude 6.5 which hit the town of Mashiki on 14 April, and a magnitude 7.3 which struck the same area two days later.

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, 278 people were killed by those earthquakes in Kumamoto and in the neighbouring Oita Prefecture.

There were also a number of deaths linked to health problems caused by the stress of evacuation, the outlet says.

Speaking at a press conference earlier, Shinji Kiyomoto of Japan's Meteorological Agency asked the public to "remain vigilant" for additional earthquakes, referencing the events of 2016.

Image source, Getty Images

Kumamoto - where the collapsed Aeon Mall is located - is a city on the Kyushu island of Japan.

Japan doesn't have a mainland. It is made up of four primary islands, one of which is Kyushu. The other three are Honshu, Hokkaido and Shikoku.

There are also thousands of smaller islands that sit further out.

The southern island of Kyushu is the third-largest of the four main islands in Japan, and the second most populous.

Videos show extent of damage at Aeon Mall's southern car parkpublished at 14:45 BST

14:45 BST

By Richard Irvine-Brown and Yi Ma

Two videos have been verified from outside the Aeon Mall showing damage to the south side of the building.

Some of the building’s facades have been ripped apart in the earthquake while large sections of an awning have been thrown across the car park to a nearby road.

Smashed advertising boards and rubble from the shopping centre are also captured in the clips.

In one video, emergency workers are preparing a trolley near a waiting ambulance.

Tremors from today's 7.1 magnitude earthquake caused historic walls at the 17th century-built Kumamoto castle to tumble.

It isn't the first time the castle has succumbed to an earthquake, when a 7.3 magnitude quake hit the region in 2016, parts of the 400-year-old castle were also damaged when turrets and curved walls collapsed.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

It's now past 22:00 in Kumamoto, and we're seeing rescue teams searching through the rubble of the collapsed Aeon Mall as night time sets in.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Kyodo via Reuters

Several people are missing after a chimney collapsed at a paper factory in the Kumamoto prefecture, according to the police who are being cited by Japan's public broadcaster NHK.

Police and firefighters are investigating the scene at Nippon Paper Industries Yatsushiro Plant, which is located in Yatsushiro City in the wider Kumamoto prefecture, says the outlet.

An aerial photograph of the site obtained by Reuters news agency appears to show a broken and collapsed chimney.

People seen evacuating Japan mall after quakepublished at 14:11 BST

14:11 BST

By Richard Irvine-Brown

We’ve verified a minute-long video showing people making their way toward the exits of the Aeon Mall. Many of those seen in the footage appear to remain remarkably calm as an alarm sounds.

In the clip, one man can be seen carrying a baby and a woman can be seen with her arm around the shoulder of a child as they walk out of the building.

As the camera pans, we can see shelves hanging loose and debris scattered on the floor including tiles from the building and cups and baskets from a coffee shop.

Image source, X

The latest pictures from Kumamoto are now starting to reach us.

As a reminder, Japenese firefighters have confirmed that many people are trapped inside the shopping centre in the city on Kyushu Island.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reu

Multiple people believed to be employees of the Aeon Mall Kumamoto are believed to be missing, Japan's public broadcaster NHK is reporting citing the National Police Agency.

According to the outlet, police sources say that contact has been lost with 20 to 30 employees and emergency services are working to establish if any are trapped inside the shopping centre.

Earlier, NHK had reported that Aeon employees had guided customers to evacuate outside the building before an explosion occurred.

Image source, Reuters

Jake Kwon
Seoul correspondent

We’re still grasping the scale of destruction and possible injury.

We have just heard from the prime minister, saying she had received reports of injuries and mobilised 3,600 self-defence forces to save human lives.

The place we are most concerned about is the shopping centre outside Kumamoto city. Officials say the second floor collapsed after the tremor, and many people inside are trapped. We have seen rescue workers going in.

Authorities are also warning people about the day two tremor. More than two hundred people were killed ten years ago when earthquakes struck the same island - the second tremor was more powerful than the first.

And this is why authorities are advising people to keep their eyes and ears close to the radio and television for possible take shelter or evacuation orders.

Image source, EPA

Tokyo Haneda Airport is currently experiencing several delays and cancellations because of the earthquake.

The airport, which is hundreds of miles from Kumamoto, currently has over 40 domestic and international flights delayed or cancelled.

Regional and connecting flights are affected, and passengers have been told they should check the status of the flight with their airline before travelling

Japan's meteorological agency says there were a total of 61 aftershocks recorded following today's initial earthquake.

It says these ranged from one to six in seismic intensity.

For comparison, after the 2016 earthquake in Kumamoto that injured more than 1,000 and killed over 40 people, it says that quakes with a seismic intensity of seven quakes took place over two days.

Alongside the magnitude measurement scale, Japan uses its own seismic intensity scale.

This ranges from zero to seven in severity. According to Japan's meteorological agency, zero means people do not feel any shaking at all, external, while seven means furniture will be moved or thrown around by the quake, and buildings that have low resistance to earthquakes might collapse.

Image source, EPA

We're seeing an image of a collapsed footbridge in the Kumamoto region following today's 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

It's unclear if anyone was injured, or when the collapse took place. Traffic appears to be travelling on the bridge that runs parallel to it.

Image source, Reuters

We've heard an updated statement from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

A statement says: "Following a request from the Governor of Kumamoto, the Self-Defence Forces are currently operating in the disaster-hit areas with 3,600 personnel.

"At this critical situation, guided by the principle of ‘human life first’, we are working in close cooperation with local authorities to minimise damage as much as possible and ensure the safety of the public."

As late evening approaches, she says teams will work "tirelessly through the night" to assess the extent of the damage and monitor affected areas.

Video of collapsed mall shows people evacuating sitepublished at 12:33 BST

12:33 BST

BBC Verify is analysing images from Kumamoto, Japan, where the Aeon Mall shopping centre has partially collapsed.

One video has been verified, showing people evacuating the site, surrounded by billowing smoke and dust.

We're working to bring you that clip as soon as possible.

Tuesday's earthquake caused "no damage or safety issues" at the Sendai nuclear power plant, around 100km from the epicentre of the quake, says the international atomic watchdog.

In a post on X, the International Atomic Energy Agency says that the plant "remains in operation" and the group will "continue to monitor the situation".

Image source, Getty

Speaking earlier - before the confirmation of trapped shoppers - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her teams had "been informed that there are already some injured people".

She also said there had been reports of damage to roads and infrastructure, "as well as collapsed buildings".

She urged residents to evacuate to a safe location, and said injuries and the extent of the damage were being assessed.

Image source, Reuters

Japanese news agency NHK reports a witness seeing an explosion and smoke at the shopping mall.

The witness saw the second floor of the building collapse, with some shoppers taken to hospital.

Japan’s fire and disaster management agency later confirmed that the second floor of a "commercial facility" collapsed, with many people trapped inside.

Image source, Reuters

As we just reported, the quake with a magnitude of 7.1 struck south-west Japan on Tuesday afternoon local time.

Thousands of homes lost power and there was damage to roads.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, experiencing around 1,500 earthquakes a year.

The meteorological agency has warned of strong aftershocks given the shallow epicentre - 10km (six miles).

Image source, Reuters

Several people are trapped inside a shopping centre after a strong earthquake hit south-west Japan, the local fire service says.

There were reports of an explosion at the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto, following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

The quake hit inland on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT), with more than 150,000 people being told to move to evacuation shelters. There was a brief tsunami warning that was lifted within the hour.

This is a developing story, we’ll bring you updates as we get them.