The Japanese share market plunged more than 3 percent on Monday after a series of earthquakes measuring up to 7.3-magnitude struck a southern manufacturing hub, killing at least 42 people and forcing major companies to close factories.
About 30,000 rescue workers were scouring the rubble for survivors and handing out food to those unable to return to their homes, after the quakes struck Kyushu from Thursday. The biggest hit near the city of Kumamoto early Saturday.
"There are still missing people. We want to make further efforts to rescue and save people and prioritize human lives," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Diet on Monday, saying he wanted to declare the region a disaster zone as soon as possible.