The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture has risen to 35, the prefectural government said Friday.
At a disaster response headquarters meeting held Friday morning, Kumamoto Prefecture government officials announced that 35 people had died, including those whose deaths are still being investigated to determine whether they were caused by the tremor.
The earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 jolted Kumamoto Prefecture at 16:27 local time on Tuesday.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, as of 15:00 local time Thursday, 270 perceptible earthquakes had been recorded in the area.
Death toll from Japan's Kumamoto earthquake rises to 35
China's foreign trade maintained steady growth in the first half of 2026, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality amid a complex and fluid external environment, according to data released Friday by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).
From January to June, the national trade promotion system issued more than 4.26 million certificates, including certificates of origin, ATA carnets -- an international customs document commonly known as the "passport for goods", and commercial certificates, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.64 percent, the CCPIT said.
The CCPIT data also highlighted robust bilateral exchanges with the United States. During the six-month period, CCPIT-affiliated offices issued 44,600 certificates of origin for exports to the U.S., involving 2.95 billion U.S. dollars in trade value, up 13.38 percent year over year.
Outbound ATA carnets from China to the U.S. reached 735, an increase of 15.93 percent, while inbound ATA carnets from the U.S. to China totaled 381, up 17.96 percent compared with same period last year.
"These figures show that in the face of the complex and fluid external environment, China's foreign trade has pressed ahead and maintained steady growth, demonstrating strong resilience and vitality. Two-way exchanges of personnel and goods between China and the U.S. have shown positive momentum in both quantity and quality," Yang Fan, a CCPIT spokeswoman, said at a press conference in Beijing on Friday.
On the exhibition front, as of the end of June, CCPIT had approved 150 projects for Chinese corporate to participate in U.S. trade fairs and exhibitions in 2026. Of these, 87 projects had already been implemented in the first half of the year, with nearly 2,000 Chinese companies attending exhibitions in the United States.
The agency said it will continue to promote exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese and American business communities to serve the steady, healthy, and sustainable development of bilateral relations.
China's foreign trade steadily expands in Jan-June despite external headwinds: trade promotion body
