TOKYO - Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Monday urged Nepal to do everything possible to locate five Japanese nationals missing after massive flooding and landslides near the country's border with China.
In a roughly 15-minute phone call with his Nepalese counterpart Shisir Khanal, Motegi offered condolences over the deaths in last Wednesday's disaster, saying Japan stands ready to provide all possible assistance.
Motegi also reiterated Japan will provide emergency relief supplies, such as tents and blankets, and said Tokyo is preparing additional aid and considering sending a disaster relief team.
Khanal thanked the Japanese government and people for their messages of sympathy and support, saying Nepal would make every effort to find those missing, including the five Japanese nationals, while working closely with the international community.
The whereabouts of the five-member Japanese family remain unknown. Education authorities in Osaka Prefecture said the family lives in Osaka and is believed to include two pupils at a municipal elementary school.
They also said a teacher at a prefectural school has the same name as one of the missing family members.
According to Nepalese tourism authorities and Japanese government sources, the missing family, whose surname is Yamamoto, consists of a couple in their 40s from Osaka and their three minor children.
The five entered Nepal from China for sightseeing on the morning of Aug. 26, with contact lost after they met up with their driver.
