A Japanese believed to have been locally employed with Fiduciary Trust International, housed in the World Trade Center, is listed as missing, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

This brings the number of Japanese missing after the terrorist attacks in the U.S. to 22.

Quoting information obtained from the Japanese Consulate in New York, the ministry said it is still trying to determine the name, age, gender and other details of the person.

Meanwhile, a missing Japanese doctor who was listed as working at the World Trade Center building has now been accounted for, the ministry said.

Also on Thursday, during a senior vice ministerial-level meeting in Tokyo, the Japanese government confirmed it will work toward strengthening information gathering and analysis of the situation in coordination with all government ministries.

A 48-year-old Japanese man, Seima Aoyama of Tokyo, is feared to have been aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers after it was hijacked by terrorists, it was also learned Thursday.

Aoyama, a California resident, works for Soka Gakkai International USA, a U.S. branch of a major lay-Buddhist organization in Japan, and is believed to have been on his way home from Boston, sources close to Aoyama said.

On Tuesday, two commercial aircraft slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and another plane crashed into the Pentagon, the nerve center of the U.S. military just outside Washington.

A fourth aircraft crashed near Pittsburgh. Toshiya Kuge, a 20-year-old student at Waseda University, was on the passenger list for this United Airlines aircraft.

U.S. Embassy reopens

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo resumed operations Thursday morning for the first time since Tuesday's terrorist attacks in the United States, embassy officials said.

The embassy reopened at 8:30 a.m. for regular business hours and has placed a visitor book at its main gate for people who want to express condolences. The massive terrorist attack is believed to have left thousands dead.

The embassy doubled security after the attacks took place, but procedures and security checks for visitors were not changed.

The embassy suspended operations including visa issuance after hijacked passenger airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon near Washington, and southeast of Pittsburgh.

Yokosuka eases alert

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. (Kyodo) The U.S. Yokosuka naval base in Kanagawa Prefecture has reduced its alert level to C from the maximum D on order of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, base officials said Thursday.

The U.S. base had been placed on highest alert after the massive terrorist attacks Tuesday in Washington and New York. Following the stand-down, an order forcing Japanese workers at the base to stay at home was lifted.

Similar measures were taken at the U.S. Navy base in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, and U.S. military facilities in Okinawa Prefecture, they said.

Help offer declined

The United States has told Japan that it does not need a Japanese rescue team to support search and rescue operations following Tuesday's terrorist attacks on the country's military and financial centers, Senior Vice Foreign Minister Seiken Sugiura said Thursday.

Japan offered to send a 90-member rescue team consisting of police officers, firefighters and medical staff to help deal with the aftermath of the devastated World Trade Center towers in New York.

Washington informed Tokyo early Thursday that Japanese help would not be necessary, Sugiura said.

Following the U.S. response, the Japanese government is likely to send the two government planes that have been on standby at Tokyo's Haneda airport back to Hokkaido's New Chitose airport, he said.

The U.S. had not requested any support from Japan, the senior vice minister said. "The United States has plenty of its own rescue forces."

U.S. OKs foreign planes

The United States on Thursday allowed foreign planes diverted to domestic airports and Canada after terrorist attacks on New York and Washington to proceed to their destinations, the transport ministry said.

The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said Canada will also allow foreign-owned planes forced to land at its airports to return to the airports they had originated from.

Four Japan Airlines planes and two All Nippon Airways planes that were diverted to Vancouver are thus expected to depart the Canadian city.

Flights to the U.S. from Japan remained disrupted Thursday as the grounding order imposed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration was extended, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced Wednesday.

Airport authorities are also stepping up security, with the government on Tuesday issuing an order requiring preboarding identity checks.

As of Thursday afternoon, JAL and ANA had canceled 34 U.S.-bound flights -- including those to New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Guam and Saipan -- out of Narita airport, Osaka's Kansai airport and Nagoya airport.

Airmail delays likely

The Postal Services Agency said Thursday that airmail deliveries from Japan to 188 countries will probably be substantially delayed due to fallout from terrorist attacks in the United States.

The agency said delays are unavoidable because it has to change delivery routes due to the suspension of all flights over the North Pacific.

It also noted that, under tightened security measures at domestic airports, all parcels are kept for 24 hours for thorough checks.

The agency said it will also stop taking orders for its guaranteed delivery-time service from Tokyo to South Korea, which uses United Airlines flights.

Afghanistan warning

The government on Thursday called on all Japanese to suspend travel to Afghanistan and leave the country if already there.

The Foreign Ministry said the move comes amid heightened concerns over safety in Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks in the United States earlier this week.

The U.S. has said it would take action against any party responsible or anyone harboring those responsible. Media reports have indicated that supporters of Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be in Afghanistan, were involved in the attacks.