Japan earthquake death toll rises as PM warns of ‘battle against time’ to rescue survivors
The number of people killed after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Japan has risen to at least 30.
A series of quakes struck Ishikawa prefecture on Monday afternoon, triggering a now-cancelled tsunami alert that caused some to flee to higher ground.
Buildings collapsed, cracks opened in roads and fires broke out – with Japan‘s prime minister saying it is now a race to help survivors.
Japan earthquake latest – get live updates
“Saving lives is our priority and we are fighting a battle against time. It is critical that people trapped in homes get rescued immediately,” said Fumio Kishida.
He said there was “large-scale damage” and that it’s especially hard to reach the northern tip of Ishikawa’s Noto peninsula, due to damaged roads.
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Ujima, Ishikawa
A thousand soldiers have been deployed to the quake area – on Japan’s west coast – alongside police and firefighters, Mr Kishida added.
Officials confirmed on Tuesday that 30 people had died just in the city of Wajima, near the epicentre, where smoke and embers were still filling the sky on Tuesday.
Many rail services, ferries and flights into the area have also been suspended.
Noto airport has shut due to damage to the runway, terminal and access roads, with 500 people stranded inside cars in its car park.
Many buildings have collapsed or been damaged
Rescuers are trying to find anyone trapped. Pic: Kyodo via AP
The earthquake hit the west of Japan’s main island
More than 140 tremors have been recorded since the quake first hit, according to Japan’s meteorological agency – which has warned more strong shocks could follow.
On Monday night, around 100,000 people were also evacuated from the quake zone and spent the night in school halls and gyms.
Japanese people are well-drilled on what to do in an earthquake and most of the country’s modern buildings are built with some kind of quake resistance.
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Wajima, near the quake’s epicentre, still has fires burning. Pic: Kyodo via Reuters
Wajima, Ishikawa. Pic: Kyodo News via AP
A 2011 quake and tsunami in Japan led to the Fukushima nuclear accident – the second-worst in history.
However, the country’s nuclear authority said no problems had been detected so far.
President Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are among those who have offered Japan help if needed.
My Biden said the countries shared a “deep bond of friendship”, adding: “Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time.”
Rishi Sunak called Japan’s prime minister a “great friend of the UK” and said Britain was “ready to support Japan”.
Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
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Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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