Persons Unaccounted for in Southwestern Japan Amid Persistent Heavy Downpours
Heavy Rain and Landslides in Southwestern Japan: Five Still Missing
As of the latest reports from August 2025, five people are still missing after heavy rain and landslides struck southwestern Japan, specifically in Kumamoto and neighboring Fukuoka Prefectures.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that Tamana in Kumamoto recorded 370 millimetres of rainfall in six hours through early Monday, exceeding the city's average precipitation for all of August. This heavy rain has triggered dangerous landslides, washing away houses and cars in Kumamoto prefecture.
A man and his family went missing in the town of Kosa, Kumamoto prefecture, after their car was swept away by a landslide. In the neighboring prefecture of Fukuoka, two people are feared to have been washed away in a river in Fukutsu on Sunday evening.
JR Kyushu, a railway company serving southwestern Japan, has suspended all bullet train services through Monday due to the heavy rain and landslides. A rescue operation is underway in the town of Misato for a resident trapped in a collapsed house.
The weather agency has issued a warning for extreme rainfall in Kumamoto and Nagasaki prefectures, as a rainband stretching across the Japanese archipelago has inundated wide areas of the country.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, has committed to implementing disaster response measures to address the ongoing crisis.
Sources: [1] NHK World, (2025). Five still missing after heavy rain in southwestern Japan. [online] Available at: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250812_34/ [2] Kyodo News, (2025). Missing persons in heavy rain in southwestern Japan rise to five. [online] Available at: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2025/08/f3477c5757d4-missing-persons-in-heavy-rain-in-southwestern-japan-rise-to-five.html
General news outlets are reporting an increase in car accidents due to the heavy rain and landslides in southwestern Japan. Accident reports include vehicles being swept away by landslides in Kumamoto prefecture, and people being washed away in a river in Fukutsu, Fukuoka prefecture.
