The family of a 22-year-old cosmetics store employee killed in the explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto said she had safely evacuated after the powerful earthquake but returned to the building under instructions from her company, calling her death a "man-made disaster."
Kumamoto residents struggling to recover from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake were forced to halt cleanup work on August 3 as the temperature in Kumamoto City reached 40.3 degrees Celsius, adding a second life-threatening disaster to communities already devastated by the quake.
A 36-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a male relative in the abdomen with a small chainsaw in a parking lot in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.
An ancient zelkova tree believed to be about 800 years old toppled at Suzume Shrine in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, on August 1, with no injuries reported.
A 39-year-old woman visiting the coast of Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, with her family died on August 2 after a falling rock struck her in the head near the Yodo sea cave.
Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, visited Ise Jingu in Mie Prefecture on Monday, paying respects at the shrine ahead of her first viewing of a traditional timber-hauling ceremony.
Two female employees who died in the explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto were ordered by their company to return to the building after initially evacuating following the earthquake so they could place sales proceeds in a safe, company executives said on August 2.
A woman in her 60s suffered an ear injury requiring about 10 stitches after a deformed bullet smashed through the rear window of her light truck while she was driving in Happo, Akita Prefecture, shortly after a monkey crossed the road.