News reports that two Japanese citizens are believed to be among the passengers of a Germanwings jet that crashed in the French Alps have left friends and relatives in shock, with some holding on to hope that the two might somehow still be alive.

The list of passengers aboard the Tuesday flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf included Hokkaido native Junichi Sato, 42, who was an employee at Tokyo-based machinery trading firm Seika Corp.

According to his employer, Sato had worked for the company's subsidiary in Duesseldorf since April 2009, and was deputy manager of the Duesseldorf branch.