Twenty-five cats rescued from Japan mall damaged by earthquake and explosion

Momo, Kohaku, Tango, Shandy and the others were on the ground floor of Aeon Mall in Kumamoto Prefecture when the deadly 7.1 magnitude quake hit on Tuesday.

Twenty-five cats stuck inside a shopping mall in Japan gutted in an explosion after a major earthquake have been rescued, the operator said Thursday, triggering huge relief on social media.

After a 7.1 quake hit the Aeon mall, staff evacuated Cat Cafe MOFF. They returned to save the cats, but a gas explosion forced another exit.

FUKUOKA -- The operator of a cat cafe in Kashima, Kumamoto Prefecture, announced on July 29 that 25 cats had been safely rescued from a mall following

Before the magnitude-7.1 earthquake hit, the mall had highlighted its seismically reinforced ceilings and improvements to safety and ⁠resilience.

1 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 28, 2026 05:28 PM IST This aerial image shows the damaged AEON Mall after an earthquake in Kashima, Kumamoto prefecture, southern Japan. (AP) After an earthquake of 7.1 magnitude struck Japan’s Kumamoto on Tuesday afternoon, several people are feared dead inside a shopping mall that part