“We want to make further efforts to rescue and save people and prioritize human lives”, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament, adding he aimed to declare the region a disaster zone to free up reconstruction funds. Two nights of earthquakes flattened houses and triggered major landslides in southern Japan.
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Almost 250,000 people have been told to leave their homes amid fears of further quakes in Japan, an aid agency says.
Because the disaster hit parts suppliers, operations of many automakers were slowed for months.
Several soldiers carried a woman’s body down on a plastic tray covered with an olive-green tarp Tuesday morning as dozens of workers dug through where a mudslide slammed into buildings in Saturday’s quake.
The flights by two MV-22 Ospreys were a gesture of cooperation between the two allies and a chance for the USA military to demonstrate the utility of the tilt-rotor aircraft, whose deployment has raised controversy in Japan due to safety concerns.
Quakes are common in Japan, part of the seismically active “Ring of Fire” which sweeps from the South Pacific islands, up through Indonesia, Japan, across to Alaska and down the west coast of North, Central and South America.
The US military said it was ready to provide aerial support for the relief efforts.
An initial quake on Thursday, measured at 6.2 magnitude by U.S. geologists, affected older buildings and killed nine people.
This file photo, taken on April 16, 2016, shows a road in the Japanese prefecture of Oita being blocked by a landslide following a powerful quake.
Toyota Motor Corp may see its operating profit reduced by about 30 billion yen (S$377 million) for the quarter ending in June after a series of earthquakes struck southwestern Japan and disrupted parts supplies.
Many whose homes were not seriously damaged sought shelter as the area was rocked by more than 500 aftershocks from two big quakes that struck late Thursday night and in the early hours of Saturday. Evacuees at a high school made an SOS signal out of chairs at a school playground, hoping to catch the attention of supply helicopters, Japanese media reported.
Factories for major manufacturers including Toyota, Sony and Honda were closed, causing supply chain disruptions around Japan.
This time, Japan asked for help with airlifts into the area, said Jacqueline Hearne, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Army.
Thousands of rescue workers searched a debris-strewn village in southern Japan for about a half-dozen missing people Sunday, as the Japanese government said USA military aircraft would join the relief mission for communities devastated by two powerful earthquakes that killed 41 people.
All in and outbound flights from the airport were canceled following the airport’s roof being damaged by the temblors.
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A few stretchers were on hand in case anyone was found alive. One tore open a mountainside from the top to a highway below. The government said about 190 of the injured were in a serious condition. Have you, or has someone you know, been affected by the natural disaster? The shallower a quake, the more likely it is to cause damage.
