Tokyo: The Japanese government is considering designating a powerful earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on Monday as a disaster of extreme severity, officials said Friday.

Once designated, the central government’s subsidy rate for restoration projects conducted by local governments will be raised.

The central government aims to make a decision on the designation as early as next week.

The magnitude-7.6 New Year’s Day quake, which registered the highest level of 7 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, has left 94 people dead in Ishikawa Prefecture.

JIJI Press