Death Toll from Japan Earthquake Exceeds 100, Hundreds Missing

The number of fatalities from the earthquake that struck Japan on the first day of the new year has surpassed 110 as of Saturday, marking the sixth day of search operations for survivors beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings. More than 200 individuals remain missing following the deadliest earthquake in nearly eight years. The quake, which hit the western coast of Japan with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale, devastated infrastructure, leading to power outages in 23,000 homes in the Hokuriku region. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida noted that he is "very aware of the extent of the damage" and has instructed government officials to accelerate emergency efforts to reopen primary roads destroyed by the earthquake to allow normal activities to resume.