The death toll in Japan's earthquake and tsunami disasters rose to over 6,400 on Friday as some vital infrastructure was restored, media reports said. According to dpa, the National Police Agency put the latest number of confirmed fatalities at 6,405 at 9 am (0000 GMT), Kyodo News reported. Some 10,259 were officially classified as missing, the police said. Sendai airport, flooded by the tsunami on 11 March, has been opened to emergency aeroplanes and helicopters. Damaged ports were also reported as reopened, as were roads including the Tohoku Expressway, a major road running through the north-east of the country. Services on the bullet train between Morioka, the capital of Iwate prefecture, and Akita, the capital of Akita prefecture, restarted Friday. But shortages of fuel were still hampering relief efforts, including the distribution of food and other goods. The lack of fuel led Miyagi prefecture to allow burials without cremation. Temperatures in the affected areas remained at midwinter levels, a problem made worse by the lack of fuel and electricity. Around 380,000 people were still staying in 2,200 shelters set up after the magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami. Miyagi prefecture Governor Yoshihiro Murai urged survivors to move to other prefectures, saying it would take some time before they could be rehoused in their home towns.
