In pictures: 'Critical' race to find survivors in earthquake stricken Japan
Japan has been rocked by a series of powerful earthquakes, bringing down buildings and sparking tsunami warnings.
The death toll continues to rise with fears many people are trapped.
A woman looks at the burnt remains of a marketplace following the earthquakes.
Officials say rescuers are desperately searching through rubble ahead of predicted bitter cold and heavy rain in what the prime minister called a race against time after powerful earthquakes killed at least 73 people in the country's west.
A man cries as a body of his family member was found in a collapsed house.
Fifteen people were listed as officially missing and possibly trapped under collapsed buildings.
Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas were shaken by more aftershocks on Wednesday, adding to the dozens that followed Monday's magnitude 7.6 tremor near Noto, about 300 kilometres from Tokyo on the opposite coast.
A stark landscape of buildings burnt to the ground after fires that followed the earthquakes.
Evacuees rest at a temporary evacuation center in Suzu, with many left homeless.
Nearly 33,000 people are staying at evacuation centres, and some said they were hungry and cold, unable to sleep and afraid.
Japanese Self Defence Force members carry an injured person out of a collapsed house.
The first 72 hours are especially critical for teams of rescuers and canine units searching for survivors, experts say, because the prospects for survival greatly diminish after that.
"More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.
"We have received reports many people are still waiting for rescue under collapsed buildings."
Japanese Self Defence Force members inspect a collapsed house, with the car still parked in the driveway.
Many buildings along a main street have collapsed.
The narrow Noto Peninsula has added to the challenges in reaching some communities, officials say.
Water, power and phone services were still down in some areas.
A firefighter walks through the rubble and wreckage of a burnt marketplace, as dust and smoke rises into the air.
SOS letters formed by folding chairs are seen at a schoolyard.
Relief officials have handed out water, blankets, food and other supplies.
Search dogs joined military personnel and firefighters trying to find missing people, although the exact number is unclear.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
