Two executives of Habita, which operates the variety store where the women died, said on Sunday they apologised 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 centre in Kashima following the magnitude 7.1 temblor on Tuesday but was later seen re-entering 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.