KUMAMOTO, Japan, July 31 (Reuters) - The death toll from a

powerful earthquake that hit southwestern Japan earlier this

week rose to 34 on Friday from 25 previously, the Kumamoto

prefecture government said in a statement.

A further six people have been seriously injured by the

earthquake that struck late on Tuesday, leading to buildings

collapsing, roads rupturing and supply chains getting snarled.

Nearly half of those killed were caught up in two major

incidents: Nippon Paper Industries' ( NIJPF ) paper mill, which

suffered major structural damage, and Aeon's shopping

mall, where a possible gas explosion occurred.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly in Kumamoto and Satoshi Sugiyama in

Tokyo; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Muralikumar

Anantharaman)