Rescuers scramble to locate survivors as death toll climbs to 18 after powerful quake hits southwestern Japan

The number of people found dead after a powerful earthquake struck part of Japan’s southwestern regions has now climbed to 18, according to the news agency AP, as rescue efforts continued into Wednesday

“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” said Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in a statement. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”