(UTV|COLOMBO) The quake is the second disaster to hit Japan this week, after a deadly typhoon lashed the country’s west coast.
Rescuers continued to search for survivors of a powerful earthquake on Japan’s island of Hokkaido, as the death toll rose to 16.
Dozens are still missing with many feared buried under rubble after the quake triggered landslides.
Some 1.6 million residents across Hokkaido remain without power.
The earthquake struck early on Thursday and thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.
