Death toll from Japan quake hits 44, number of wounded at 660

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in northern Japan last week rose to 44, with 660 injured, the government said on Monday.

The pre-dawn, 6.7-magnitude quake on Thursday temporarily paralyzed the island of Hokkaido, cutting off access by air and train and knocking out power to an island the size of Austria.

About 2,500 people remain in evacuation centers, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, after landslides buried houses and rain at the weekend loosened soil in a further threat to unstable houses.