Japan Latest: A Moment of Silence as Death Toll Climbs

Today, at 2:46 p.m. local time (0546 GMT), Japan observed a moment of silence to mark one week since the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck, followed by a tsunami and the ongoing crisis at its Fukushima nuclear reactors.

The National Police Agency has just released the latest casualty figures, with 6539 dead and 10,354 missing.

At Fukushima, the Tokyo Electric Power Company says it hopes to restore power to two of the troubled reactors by Saturday to activate cooling systems. Fire trucks have been dousing reactor No.3, while teams are trying to restore a power cable to reactors No. 1 and No. 2 to restart pumps to pour cold water on overheating fuel rods.

The damaged No. 4 reactor:

Photo: Reuters

Japan Video: Today's Earthquake

Neighbourhood swept away in Miyako in Iwate Prefecture, north-east Japan:

The swaying towers in Tokyo:

Click to read more ...