Rescue teams are racing to reach the most devastated areas after the powerful earthquake that struck central Japan on the first day of the year. The scene is stark: collapsed structures, widespread damage, and a race against time as responders pry through rubble to reach survivors. Early reports indicate a grim toll, with initial estimates suggesting hundreds of lives were lost and thousands more affected as officials continue to assess the extent of the destruction.
“Rescue missions are a fight against time. Those trapped in collapsed buildings must be rescued as quickly as possible,” said the Prime Minister during a Tuesday morning briefing. Fumio Kishida, wearing the practical blue overalls associated with disaster response, underscored the urgency of the operation. As of now, nearly 1,200 people remain unaccounted for, according to a government spokesperson, while infrastructure and essential services suffer delays. Trains and flights were suspended at Noto airport, and damaged access roads and runways left many travelers stranded, with around 500 passengers temporarily displaced.
Getting to the northern tip of the peninsula is challenging, especially in Ishikawa Prefecture. Tokyo has dispatched aid by air and sea as roads and bridges sustain further damage. Aerial photographs show ongoing fires and extensively damaged buildings. Approximately 45,000 homes were still without power after a freezing night in Ishikawa, as reported by the local utility. Running water remained unavailable in many areas, adding to the daily hardships faced by residents. A lingering problem is replica chains often seen after major earthquakes, complicating recovery and relief efforts. The Japan Meteorological Agency has already recorded about 200 aftershocks, most of them above three on the Richter-like scale used in modern reporting.
More than a thousand soldiers
Firefighters and police from across the country were deployed to the Noto peninsula, with more than a thousand military personnel already participating in the mission. The Defense Ministry indicates that this number is expected to rise to as many as 10,000 in the coming days. The heart of the disaster lies in the city center closest to the epicenter, where a third of the victims were concentrated. The once-bustling bazaar, a popular spot for tourists seeking local handicrafts, has been reduced to ruins, illustrating the suddenness and scale of the destruction.
The quake struck on Monday afternoon, about 30 kilometers from Wajima and 16 kilometers beneath the surface. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured its magnitude at 7.6. The initial tremors prompted a tsunami advisory for nearby regions, driving residents to seek higher ground. In the aftermath, about 100,000 people spent the night in designated crisis shelters such as gymnasiums and community centers. The manned shelters were established ahead of time by authorities to accommodate evacuees. By Tuesday morning, the tsunami alert had been lifted after waves reaching just over a meter were recorded along the coast in the preceding hours.
Instantly after the tremor, a sense of fear took hold. Japan has long sat on tectonic fault lines where deadly earthquakes have occurred before. The tragedy recalls past events that have left deep scars in the public memory, including the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of the east coast and led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In the wake of that crisis, Japan temporarily shifted away from nuclear energy, a pivot that sparked political debates and policy reversals. Despite that, Japan continues to reassess energy needs and the safety of its infrastructure, while authorities strive to reassure residents and visitors alike that the country can recover and rebuild. The current response reflects both the challenges of rapid disaster response and the resilience that characterizes the nation, with ongoing measures to ensure power restoration, water access, and shelter for those displaced. Officials emphasize that reconstruction will consider safety and sustainability as a guiding principle for the weeks and months ahead, with communities slowly returning to a sense of normalcy as conditions permit.