KUMAMOTO, Japan - Two women who died in an explosion at an Aeon shopping mall following a powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture last week were instructed by their employer to return inside to put sales proceeds in a safe, the company said Sunday.
Two executives of Habita Inc., which operates the variety store where the women died, said they apologized to the family of one of the victims, 22-year-old Kurumi Otake, at her wake and handed over a written account of events.
Otake evacuated from the Aeon shopping mall in Kashima following the magnitude 7.1 temblor on July 28 but was later seen reentering the building.
"(My daughter) isn't coming back," Otake's mother said in tears.
A male relative told reporters that Otake "had a strong sense of responsibility," adding, "We had just been joking around laughing" at a family gathering about three months earlier.
Many friends attended the wake. Habita's sales manager told reporters, "Looking back now, it was not worth a life."
Habita was founded in 1976 and operates more than 10 stores in Kyushu, according to the company's website.
Seven people died in the explosion at around 5:50 p.m. on July 28. Aeon Co. said at press conference the following day it was unclear why they were inside the building.
The Kumamoto prefectural government said that as of Monday, 36 people had been confirmed dead as a direct result of the earthquake, with two other deaths still under investigation.
More than 4,600 buildings were damaged, with over 8,000 people staying in 206 evacuation shelters, the prefecture said.
