In the Kumamoto Earthquake that occurred on July 28, a woman who died after being caught in an explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto, despite having once evacuated the building, had returned on the store manager's instructions, and this has been reported in China and become a topic of discussion.

According to reports, among the seven people who died in the explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto, Kurumi Otake (22), who worked at a cosmetics store, had evacuated once after the earthquake, but was instructed by the store to put the sales in the safe. She was caught in the explosion while trying to return to the store with other employees.

The store's operating company admitted that a supervisor had instructed Otake and another colleague to put the sales in the safe after the earthquake, and apologized to the bereaved family. Otake's mother stated, "Even with an apology, my daughter won't come back," and is considering pursuing criminal responsibility for the company.

When Chinese media outlets such as Hubei Daily reported this, Chinese netizens voiced comments such as: "What a terrible thing," "How pitiful," "Returning after evacuating? I could never do that," "Is there anything more important than life?", "Was it necessary to risk lives for such a small amount of money?", "Natural disasters can be avoided, but man-made disasters could not be avoided," and "Weren't Japanese companies supposed to be employee-centric?"

In addition, comments such as "Sometimes listening too much to instructions isn't good. When there's a natural disaster, protecting your life is most important," and "When your life is at stake, it's better to make your own judgment," were seen, as well as remarks like "This is impossible in China, because everyone uses electronic payments," "Japanese people are too fixated on cash," and "That's why it's better to use electronic payments."

Furthermore, one user posted, "This kind of thing only happens in Japan. If a magnitude (M) 7-class earthquake occurred in another country, many buildings would collapse, and no one would even think of going back. In Japan, buildings don't collapse much unless it's M8 or higher (which is why the idea of returning arose). However, this time an explosion occurred." (Translation/Editing: Kitada)