Three Japanese tourists in Pakistan remain missing following the devastating earthquake that hit the country last weekend, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Wednesday.
The government has confirmed the safety of all five Japanese long-term residents in the country, but the status of the travelers remains unclear, the top government spokesman told reporters.
Aid worker Satoru Narahara, 36, and his 2-year-old son, Hikaru, were among the victims of the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the violence-plagued Kashmir region of Pakistan on Saturday.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has pledged to provide as much aid as possible in response to the $272 million appeal launched Tuesday by the United Nations to assist Pakistan in recovering from the disaster.
Japan has already offered $20 million in aid and several Self-Defense Forces transport helicopters, and has sent a disaster relief team and relief goods worth 25 million yen.
Senior Vice Foreign Minister Shuzen Tanigawa has also been dispatched to Pakistan.