Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today visited the region devastated by floods over recent days and promised that the government will do everything possible to help rebuild. Mr Abe cut short his European tour by a day due to the recent floods.
Torrential rain that began a week ago set off landslides and sent rivers surging over their banks on the southwestern island of Kyushu, forcing over 4 lakh people from their homes. 25 have, so far, been killed, with many still missing.
About 11,000 soldiers, police and firefighters are combing through mud and piles of logs in the largely rural area, searching for the missing.