Govt Corrects Abe-Stated Hokkaido Quake Death Toll

September 7, 2018

Tokyo- The Japanese government has corrected a number reported by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday morning as the death toll from Thursday's powerful earthquake in Hokkaido.

Abe said at a meeting of related ministers that the death toll had risen to 16. This number, however, included people who were in cardiopulmonary arrest and not confirmed dead, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference in the afternoon.

"We're sorry" about the wrong number, Suga said, explaining that the error occurred in the clerical tallying process.

According to the latest information given by Suga, nine people have been confirmed dead and nine others in cardiopulmonary arrest.

Five of the nine deaths were reported in the town of Atsuma, with the other four in the cities of Sapporo and Tomakomai and the towns of Mukawa and Shinhidaka, respectively. The nine in cardiopulmonary arrest were in Atsuma, where 24 other people are unaccounted for. Jiji Press