Nearly 250 people are still missing in Japan after the devastating New Year’s Day earthquake which has killed at least 92.
Officials said 242 people were still missing as of Friday morning after a 7.6 magnitude quake hit the country’s west coast, decimating houses and buildings.
Ishikawa Prefecture officials said 55 of those who died were in the hard-hit city of Wajima and 23 were in Suzu, where many people are thought to be trapped under their collapsed homes.
The 13 others were reported in five neighbouring towns.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered an increase in the number of soldiers on rescue operations to about 3,600 soldiers in addition to the initial 1,000 as the country races to rescue survivors.
Their mission is to provide those affected with fresh water and hot meals, as well as set up supplies for the 34,000 who lost their homes and are now staying at evacuation centres
"We will not give up," Mr Kishida said after a meeting with disaster response officials on Friday.
Many roads have been blocked by landslides or suffered cracks because of the strong quake, making it difficult for trucks delivering water and food supplies to reach those in need.
The hardest hit spots were on the Noto Peninsula, the centre of the quake, connected by a narrow land strip to the rest of the main island of Honshu, making alternative routes scarce.
Snow is expected over the weekend, so finding those trapped under the rubble has become even more critical.
Three days after Monday's quake, rescuers are still pulling out people alive from under debris, but experts warn time is running out.
Japan is prone to earthquakes, with many fault lines and volcanoes. A massive quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011 caused widespread damage in northeastern Japan.
So far, no major issues have been reported at nuclear plants following this week's earthquake and aftershocks.
