Watch: Roads crack open, buildings damaged after powerful 7.1 magnitude quake hits Japan

A powerful earthquake struck southwestern Japan on Tuesday (July 28), collapsing buildings and triggering fires, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. At least 50 people were taken to hospital, broadcaster NHK reported.

The earthquake struck at 4:27 pm local time (0727 GMT) and recorded a magnitude of 7.1, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The quake reached the highest possible level of seven on Japan's Shindo seismic intensity scale.

"We are still assessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries," Takaichi said.

"Power outages and fires are happening in some areas, and roads and bridges have been damaged, and buildings have collapsed," she said.

Authorities also issued a tsunami warning, forecasting waves of up to one metre (3.28 feet). Officials urged residents in coastal areas to move to higher ground and follow evacuation instructions.

Japan's state broadcaster reported that a "considerable number" of people had died after a shopping mall suffered damage in the earthquake, while broadcaster TBS also reported the deaths.

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Emergency services said "Many people" were trapped inside a shopping mall damaged by the earthquake in southwestern Japan.

In Kashima town, the second floor of a shopping complex collapsed, leaving several people trapped inside, the fire department said in a statement.

Police earlier received reports of what sounded like an explosion at an Aeon Mall outlet in the Kumamoto region. Authorities had not provided information on damage or casualties at the outlet.

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake also struck northern Japan on June 25 but caused no deaths or major damage.

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