Another Earthquake Struck Japan

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook Ishikawa Prefecture on Saturday, while the search continues in the same area of some 200 disappeared by the strong earthquake last Monday, whose death toll amounts to 110.

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Japanese Meteorological Agency reported that the new earthquake took place at 5.26 local time this Saturday (20.26 GMT on Friday) with epicenter about 10 kilometers deep in the Noto Peninsula, in the aforementioned prefecture of central Japan.

The death toll confirmed by the January 1 earthquake in Japan rose to 110 this Saturday, as the search for survivors among the rubble of collapsed buildings entered its sixth day.

Local authorities have so far not reported any further damage caused by this Saturday’s earthquake, which reached level 5 high on the Japanese scale, nor any additional disruptions to rail or road transport networks.

Due to infrastructure damage, the authorities are also having great difficulty in transporting supplies such as food or drinking water to the approximately 31,000 people still evacuated in some 357 shelters.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged all ministries, agencies and local authorities involved in rescue efforts to "make every effort to try to save as many lives as possible", during a coordination meeting of emergency operations, according to local media.

In an unusual gesture from nearby North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un sent a message of condolence to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Saturday.

Kim "sincerely hoped" that the people in the affected areas would "restore their stable life at the earliest date possible," the official Korean Central News Agency said.