Premier Chang San-cheng expressed sympathy over the loss of life and property caused by last night's deadly earthquake in Japan, Executive Yuan Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun said today.
Upon receiving word of the magnitude-6.4 temblor, which struck southern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture at 9:26 p.m. local time (8:26 p.m. in Taiwan), Chang immediately instructed government agencies to ensure the safety of Taiwan nationals in Japan.
After directing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to confirm the status of ROC nationals living in Japan, the premier asked the Ministry of Education to do the same with Taiwanese students there. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) was also asked to track down the whereabouts of Taiwanese tourist groups traveling in the greater Kyushu region, Sun said.
The MOFA has been in close contact with its representative office in Japan since last night. All overseas Taiwanese are reported safe and the office is still attempting to contact more Taiwanese students. There have been no reports of Taiwanese injuries or casualties so far, the MOFA said.
The MOTC has checked with several major travel agencies in Taiwan and confirmed the safety of all tour groups in Japan. It urges ROC travelers heading to Japan to stay on top of the latest developments.
The Ministry of the Interior indicated that Taiwanese search and rescue teams are at the ready to assist in emergency missions should Japan require assistance.