At least 28 people have died in the earthquake that struck Kumamoto prefecture on the Japanese island of Kyushu on July 28, the Japanese Government said on July 30. Another five were killed at a Nippon Paper Industries mill in the city of Yatsushiro, where a chimney collapsed. Police, firefighters and Self-Defence Forces personnel worked past the 72-hour mark widely treated as decisive for finding people alive. Takaichi has taken charge of an emergency disaster task force and ordered the deployment of 3,600 Self-Defence Forces personnel at the request of the Kumamoto governor. Von der Leyen posted a message of sympathy on July 29 in which she told Japan that “Europe stands with you”.