Japan earthquake news RECAP: Coastal town in a 'catastrophic situation' with 90% of houses destroyed, mayor reveals as disaster death toll reaches 55

More global leaders have taken to social media to express their sympathies with victims of the devastating earthquake in Japan.

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala said he was 'deeply sorrowed by the consequences' of the quake.

He added: 'My deepdest condolences to the PM Kishida and the people in Japan.

President of Romania Klaus Iohannis said his country was sending 'heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the earthquakes' victims.

European Council president Charles Michel wrote: 'Europeans ... mourn with you the devastation and loss of life'.

He offered Japan 'any assistance' it would require.

Although casualty numbers continued to climb gradually to reach 55 earlier this afternoon, the prompt public warnings and the quick response from the general public and officials appeared to have limited some of the damage, according to a disaster expert.

Toshitaka Katada, a University of Tokyo professor specializing in disasters, said people were prepared because the area had been hit by quakes in recent years. They had evacuation plans and emergency supplies in stock.

'There are probably no people on Earth who are as disaster-ready as the Japanese,' he said.

Japan is frequently hit by earthquakes because of its location along the 'Ring of Fire,' an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.

But Katada warned the situation remains precarious and unpredictable. The March 2011 quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan had been preceded by other quakes.

'This is far from over,' Katada said.

Predictions by scientists have repeatedly been proven wrong, such as with the 2016 quake in southwestern Kumamoto, an area previously seen as relatively quake-free.

'Having too much confidence in the power of science is very dangerous. We are dealing with nature,' Katada said.

Footage shows customers in a shoe store inside a mall in Japan huddling together as the earthquake strikes.

Several boxes of shoes can be seen flying out of the shelves as the store's furniture shakes violently.

Authorities have confirmed 55 deaths, all in Ishikawa prefecture, making it Japan's deadliest earthquake since 2016.

Many of those killed are in Suzu and Wajima, another city on the remote northern tip of the Noto peninsula.

In Suzu, a town of just over 5,000 households near the quake's epicentre, 90 per cent of houses may have been destroyed, according to its mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.

Scores more have been injured and authorities were battling blazes in several cities on Tuesday and hauling people from collapsed buildings.

Kanae Yamazaki looked at the house where she grew up in Togi town, Noto Peninsula, Japan.

Ms Yamazaki said her mother was in the house during the earthquake but miraculously survived the collapse of the building.

At least 48 people were killed and 107 injured, according to Ishikawa Prefecture Government and the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, following the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the area yesterday.

In a heartbreaking image, residents can be seen standing to look at destroyed buildings in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, today.

A string of powerful earthquakes in western Japan damaged homes, cars and boats and left many stranded with their belongings destroyed.

Barnie Davies, from Kanazawa, said he was at home and his wife and children had gone out shopping when the earthquake struck the city.

'As it started I thought it was another small one so I started taking a video for my family, but then it just got worse,' he said.

'When I went upstairs everything had fallen down.'

Barnie said his wife and children had to crouch down and cover their heads while out shopping.

The family have now evacuated their home and taken shelter in a local school gym, the BBC reported.

A horrifying image shows an entire building on its side following an earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan.

A series of powerful earthquakes in western Japan damaged homes, cars and boats, with officials warning people on Tuesday to stay away from their homes in some areas because of a continuing risk of major quakes and tsunamis.

A second photo shows a firefighter walking through the rubble and wreckage of a burnt-out marketplace in Wajima today.

Homes can be seen destroyed in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan, today after the earthquake left many areas in ruin.

Many of the 48 people confirmed to have died are in Suzu or Wajima, another city on the remote northern tip of the Noto peninsula.

In Suzu, a coastal town of just over 5,000 households near the quake's epicentre, 90 per cent of houses may have been destroyed, according to its mayor Masuhiro Izumiya.

'The situation is catastrophic,' he said.

Many of the 48 people confirmed to have died are in Suzu or Wajima, another city on the remote northern tip of the Noto peninsula.

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida said some 3,000 rescuers were finding it difficult to reach the northern tip of the peninsula where helicopter surveys had discovered many fires and widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure.

There are around 120 cases of people awaiting rescue, his government spokesperson said.

Here are new pictures showing the devastation in the Ishikawa Prefecture, which is the worst-hit area near the epicentre of the quakes, one of which reached 7.6 in magnitude.

Houses collapsed and now lie in piles of rubble on the roads.

The roads themselves were so severely damaged in places that several towns in the region have been completely cut off.

In the coastal areas rubble and even cars were swept away by small tsunami waves.

On the Noto Peninsula, the destruction included buildings damaged by fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sunk or washed ashore, and highways hit by landslides.

'I'm amazed the house is this broken and everyone in my family managed to come out of it unscathed,' said resident Akiko, standing outside her parents' tilting home in the badly hit city of Wajima.

The way 2024 started 'will be etched into my memory forever', she said after what she called the 'long and violent' earthquake yesterday.

South Korea has protested to Japan over a tsunami advisory issued by its neighbour that featured a map displaying a group of its islands also claimed by Tokyo, officials in Seoul said today.

Although ties have improved in recent years, the two remain at odds over the sovereignty of the islets, called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan (pictured below), which lie about halfway between them in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.

South Korea offered condolences for Monday's disaster, but added that the islands, shown on the map issued by Japan's weather agency, were not subject to any territorial dispute.

'Our government has sternly protested to Japan through a diplomatic channel and requested corrective action,' Lim Soo-suk, a spokesperson of the South Korean foreign ministry, told a briefing.

Global leaders have taken to social media to express their solidarity with earthquake victims in Japan.

French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: 'Solidarity with Japan which must overcome the consequences of strong earthquakes. We share the immense pain of the victims' families.'

For Japanese Prime Minister Kishida he added: 'You can count on the support and help from France.'

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Italy 'stands alongside the Japanese people in this difficult moment'.

She added: 'We stand ready to provide Japan with all necessary help and support.'

German chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote: 'After the severe earthquake in Japan, our thoughts are with the victims and their families who are now struggling with the consequences of this natural disaster. We stand by our Japanese friends.'

The massive 7.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Japan yesterday may have shifted the land near the epicentre up to 1.3 metres to the west, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Japan's Geospatial Information Authority reportedly recorded an observation point in Wajima City in the worst-hit Ishikawa Prefecture to have moved 1.3 metres to the west.

It also said there was a westward shift about 1 meter in Anamizu Town and 80 centimeters in Suzu City. An observation point in Nanao City's Notojima moved 60 centimeters northwest toward the Sea of Japan coast.

Land appears to have shifted about 20 centimeters to the northwest in the prefectures of Toyama and Niigata. Several centimeters of land shifts were also observed in the Kanto-Koshin region and elsewhere.

Japanese rescuers are battling the clock and powerful aftershocks today to find survivors after more than 150 earthquakes - ranging from magnitude 3.0 to 7.6 - caused wide-ranging destruction.

A major search and rescue operation continued into Tuesday, with Japan's Prime Minister saying that rescue efforts had been made 'extremely difficult due to damage to roads' in the Ishikawa prefecture, near the epicentre of the quake.

But fears are growing that time is running out to find survivors trapped beneath the surface. The main highway through the district was completely closed, according to reports.

Water, power and phone service remains down across Ishikawa and beyond, and residents expressed sorrow about their destroyed homes and uncertain futures.

Around 2,500 emergency responders scrambled from big cities to help the search operation in the impacted coastal area, Nikkei Asia reported, as regional Governor Hiroshi Hasthat declared the first 24 hours is crucial to save as many people as possible.

Rescuers inspecting buildings and putting out fires in Wajima City in the Ishikawa prefecture can be seen below.

Footage from the devastating earthquakes in Japan show the pavements seemingly coming alive as they are raised and cracked.

Many roads were left unusable after the quakes, cutting off several villages waiting for help.

More than 150 earthquakes hit Japan over the last 24 hours and officials warn more could be coming.

The Australian Prime Minister shered his support for the people of Japan in a post on social media.

Hundreds of residents of the earthquake-hit Japanese town of Shika have stood in a queue to get rations of drinking water.

The line snaked out the door and around the town hall building, past paving stones jutting out of the ground that were forced upwards by the powerful series of tremors on New Year's Day.

Taps ran dry in many homes as dozens of aftershocks rocked Shika and other towns in the central Ishikawa region following a 7.5-magnitude earthquake.

Resident Tsugumasa Mihara, 73, had just given his grandchildren a traditional New Year's Day gift of pocket money and was taking a nap when he was rattled awake by the quake.

'I was just helpless,' he said. 'All I could do at the time was pray that it would end soon.'

Now, 'the problem is water'.

An aerial image shows an area of houses completely destroyed by the earthquake that has so far taken 48 lives.

Tens of thousands of houses and buildings have been turned to rubble and left terrified survivors to brave sub-zero temperatures on the streets.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, said the Prime Minister urged the government to 'put lives first' and to 'understand the situation' of the devastation caused by the earthquake.

He said: 'To the people of Japan, please be on alert that there may be earthquakes for about a week of an intensity scale of up to seven.

'To the people that live in areas where the shake was strong, please look out for evacuation information through local offices, on TV, radio, and internet and take action accordingly.'

Hayashi said there are 120 'cases of people' who are waiting to be rescued and then adding 'a total of 57,360 people have evacuated'.

Harrowing footage shows boats capsized and sinking in Suzu city after an earthquake rocked Japan on New Year's Day.

The water can be seen littered with broken boat parts as other capsized boats are visible on the ground.

At least 48 people have died following the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake that that happened yesterday.

At least 48 people have died following the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan's main island of Honshu yesterday.

Tens of thousands of houses and buildings have been turned to rubble and left terrified survivors to brave sub-zero temperatures on the streets, unable to return to their homes.

Dozens of people are still missing and unaccounted for amid the New Year's disaster, with the death toll expected to rise sharply as rescuers begin to recover victims buried beneath the debris.

Read the fully story at MailOnline:

As daylight broke across Japan this morning the full destruction of the deadly 7.6 magnitude earthquake was laid bare showing collapsed homes, toppled temples and huge cracks in the middle of roads.

White smoke continued to rise from the charred remains of buildings, as the country woke to the horrific aftermath after being hit with 150 quakes in less than 24 hours.

One building, believed to be a seven-storey block, was seen lying on its side while a temple in Suzu City is said to have been completely destroyed. In popular tourist site Wajima City, in the Ishikawa Prefecture at least 100 buildings have been destroyed.

Shocking images emerging from the country show houses flattened to the ground, with abandoned cars being engulfed into huge crevices in the road.

We have just received the sad news that the death toll after the Japan quakes has reached 48.

This comes as Japanese rescuers are battling the clock and powerful aftershocks today to find survivors after more than 150 earthquakes - ranging from magnitude 3.0 to 7.6 - caused wide-ranging destruction.

The 7.6 magnitude quake that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high, toppled houses, caused a major fire and tore apart roads.

Local authorities put the death toll at 48, but the number was expected to rise as rescuers comb through the rubble.

'Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires,' Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (pictured below) said after a disaster response meeting.

'We have to race against time to search for and rescue victims of the disaster.'

If you are just joining us now, here is a recap of what we know so far:

• At least 48 people have died, but the death toll is expected to climb
• Hundreds of buildings have been destroyed and several towns were cut off due to damaged roads and landslides
• More than 150 earthquakes hit Japan in less than 24 hours and more are expected today
• Rescuers are battling the clock to find survivors buried alive under collapsed houses

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline's live blog.

We will bring you the latest developments in Japan as rescuers scramble to find survivors after more than 150 quakes hit the country in less than 24 hours.