TOKYO: The Aeon mall destroyed in a post-quake explosion in southern Japan on Tuesday (Jul 28) had just reopened last month as a new and improved shopping and entertainment complex to commemorate its recovery from a deadly tremor a decade ago. The mall was so badly damaged in the magnitude 7.3 Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016 that it had to close for months and rebuild over even longer periods. As it went through a 2017 redevelopment and expansion, the mall highlighted its seismically reinforced ceilings and overall improvements to safety and resilience. With the opening of Taiwan chipmaker TSMC's factory in Kumamoto in 2024, visitors to the Aeon mall had topped 8 million people a year. It housed some 200 stores and businesses and a cinema, and it had room for 5,000 cars in its parking lot.