Boss Sent Workers Back Into Earthquake-Damaged Mall to Protect Cash; Both Died

On 28 July, a powerful earthquake hit Kumamoto. A Habita supervisor told two workers to go back inside Aeon Mall to move money from cash registers into a secure safe. About an hour later, an explosion struck the south side, killing both. One was 22-year-old Kurumi Otake. Habita's sales director said at her wake, "Looking back now, it was not worth a life."