Thousands of Japanese and US troops have begun an intensive aerial and maritime search for bodies along Japan's northeast Pacific coast.
The search has begun three weeks after the devastating earthquake and tsunami which struck on 11 March.
120 aircraft and helicopters as well as 65 vessels have been deployed to try and locate the 16,400 people still missing after the disaster, in which at least 11,500 people have been confirmed dead.
A Japanese official said the focus will be along the coastline, river mouths and land areas still submerged in sea water.
However the search will not cover the 30km exclusion zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the evacuation of residents near the country's stricken nuclear plant will be a ‘long-term’ operation.
Mr Edano has stopped wearing an emergency jacket, which he said shows the government ‘is stepping into the next stage towards restoration and reconstruction’.
The US and Germany are sending robots to help repair and explore the damaged plant, while the Kyodo news agency said some 140 US military radiation safety experts would soon visit to offer technical help.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the first foreign leader in Japan since the tsunami, said yesterday that the world should aim to set out new nuclear industry standards by the end of the year disaster.
