Japan's Building Codes Withstood a Maximum-Intensity Quake — But Five Died and Nine Remain Missing

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto prefecture on July 28, 2026, registering a maximum 7 on Japan's shindo intensity scale — the scale's highest level. Five people died; nine workers remain missing after a chimney collapsed at a paper mill in Yatsushiro. Nearly 50,000 households lost power and 140,000 lost water. Relatively few buildings collapsed overall, which the Guardian attributed to Japan's strict earthquake-resistant construction standards.