A total of 116 people from nine prefectures were injured and at least 2,086 buildings were damaged in the magnitude-7.3 earthquake that shook wide areas of western Japan on Friday, disaster officials said Saturday.
The Meteorological Agency estimated the probability of an aftershock measuring magnitude 6 or more during the three days from Saturday evening to be 5 percent, with the likelihood of an aftershock of 5 or more estimated at 40 percent.
About 700 police and firefighters in Tottori Prefecture, where 74 people were injured, remained on alert for further incidents as aftershocks continued to hit the area Saturday. Helicopters were dispatched to mountainous regions of the prefecture to look for damaged buildings and roads.
A government mission led by National Land Agency chief Chikage Ogi visited Tottori Prefecture on Saturday morning to discuss relief measures with local authorities, prefectural officials said.