Kumamoto Castle wall collapse after 2016 quake undergoes 3D analysis

TOKYO - A stone wall located at the entrance of the main keep of Kumamoto Castle in southwestern Japan that collapsed 10 years ago from a major earthquake was found to have crumbled due to accumulated damage from a foreshock, according to a recent 3D analysis of aerial photographs by experts and Kyodo News.

The wall's structure loosened and changed shape after a foreshock on April 14 in 2016, leaving it vulnerable when the main quake struck before dawn on April 16, with Kumamoto Prefecture recording the maximum level of 7 on the Japanese intensity scale twice.