Both the Japanese and English press in Japan devote most of today's newspapers to the megaquake and huge tsunami that has ravaged a large area around the port city of Sendai in north eastern Japan.
Latest news available confirms over 350 fatalities and over a 1,000 people missing feared dead in the worst hit prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, Ibaraki and Fukushima.
Radioactive materials are thought to have leaked at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and residents have been evacuated at the scene.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has left Tokyo by helicopter this morning to inspect the damage caused and co-ordinate the massive relief efforts now underway.
Four passenger trains running along the coast of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures are missing.
Water supplies remain distrupted in many of the affected areas along with power outages in some districts.
The US has dispatched the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan to the area and the Tortuga, a US Navy amphibious ship stationed in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture in Kyushu is to head to the scene.
The Japan Meteorological Agency continues to issue information on aftershocks in the region.
Sporting events have been cancelled across the country including all today's J-League soccer matches.
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