By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

- Temperatures drop below 0C as 450,000 shelter in makeshift camps with little food or water

- Emperor Akihito makes rare television address urging his people not to give up

- More than 4,000 bodies found and another 7,000 missing assumed dead

Heart of the wasteland: Car headlamps illuminate Yamada in Iwate prefecture


The Emperor of Japan today made a desperate plea for his countrymen not to give up as the devastation following the earthquake and tsunami worsened.

The rubble-strewn wastelands of north-east Japan were covered by a blanket of snow today, hitting hopes of finding any more survivors five days after the devastating tsunami.

Freezing temperatures also made things worse for millions of survivors - hundreds of thousands of whom are sheltering in makeshift camps in areas cut off from the outside world - as food and fuel supplies run low.


Things get worse: Rescue workers walk in heavy snowfall at a factory area that was devastated after being hit by an earthquake and tsunami in Sendai,


Rescue crews battled rain that turned to snow as the mercury dipped below zero, while others returned to where their homes once stood to try and salvage any possessions they can find.

More than 10,000 are thought to have died when the huge wave hit the country- rescuers have found around 4,000 bodies and 7,000 victims are still missing.

However the death toll could still rise much higher than that.


Rare appearance: Emperor Akihito speaking during a televised address to the nation


As the plight of his people continues to worsen, Japanese Emperor Akihito delivered a rare video message to the nation urging the Japanese 'not to give up'.

It was an unprecedented move for Akihito, who is revered by the Japanese people but rarely appears in public. The emperor was regarded as an all powerful god-king until the Japanese lost the Second World War.

'I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times,' he said.

'We don't know the number of victims, but I pray that every single person can be saved.'

'People are being forced to evacuate in such severe conditions of bitter cold, with shortages of water and fuel ... I cannot help praying that rescue work is done swiftly and people's lives get better, even a little.'

He also expressed 'concern' at the unfolding nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant.

There are fears that the country's infrastructure will take a decade to recover, with estimated cost of the damage to buildings and factories put at £124billion.

However Japan's Nikkei index closed up 4.5 per cent today in a rebound that follows two days of precipitous falls.


Heartbreak and joy: : Yoshie Murakami cries as she holds a hand of her dead mother in the rubble near the spot where her home used to be in Rikuzentakata, Iwate (left). Murakami's 23-year-old daughter is still missing. (Right) A mother hugs her one-year-old twins as they are reunited five days after the earthquake


Wiped out: cars and lorries are strewn across what used to be an industrial area in the city of Sendai. Experts estimate it could be ten years before Japan's infrastructure recovers form the damage caused by the tsunami


Sifting through the wreckage: Residents return to the neighbourhoods where their homes once stood to search for household goods in Sendai


Millions of people are struggling along the coast with little food, water or heat, and already chilly temperatures dropped further as a cold front moved in.

Up to 450,000 people are staying in temporary shelters, often sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums. About 850,000 households in the north are without electricity.

Fears are mounting over the cost of rebuilding the country, as experts said the devasatation was much worse than the catastrophic 1995 Kobe earthquake.


Unbearably bleak: Japan's Self Defence Force soldiers trawl the snow for bodies in a field in Miyako, Iwate while Reiko Miura, 68, cries as she looks for her sister's son at a tsunami-hit area in Otsuchi, Iwate


The four most severely affected prefectures (states) - Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki - are home to industries from farming to auto parts to electronics and make up some 6 percent of Japan's economy.

The biggest port on the northeast coast, Sendai, has been destroyed. It handled mainly container shipments of exports including rubber and marine products, office machinery, paper goods and auto parts. Three others - Hachinohe, Ishinomaki and Onahama - were severely damaged and will likely be out of commission for months.


Japan's emperor in historic speech 'Never give up hope' - 16th March 2011 CNN.



source: dailymail