The Deputy Press Secretariat of Japan, Mariko Kameko has reassured that no Samoans were harmed during last year's earthquake in Japan which killed more than 120 people while 200 are missing.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, Ms. Kameko said she is not sure about the data but stressed that no Samoans were harmed during the earthquake.

"I am not sure about that but no Samoans were injured or killed as far as I know because they live in a prefacture that is far from where the earthquake happened," she said.

Meanwhile, the census in 2022 in Japan confirmed that there were 71 Samoan living in Japan.

In a previous interview with the Samoa Observer, the Ambassador of Japan to Samoa, Senta Keisuke said he is also not 100 percent sure of the well-being of the Samoans in Japan but he is aware that the Samoans live far away from most affected part of Japan from the earthquake.

"As far as I know, I heard nothing about the Samoans affected by the earthquake or a tsunami because it was in the Northern area of Japan," he said.

"The epicenter or center point of the earthquake was on the northern end of a peninsula which is about over 300 kilometers from Tokyo and other areas where the Samoans mostly stay.

"From that peninsula to Tokyo, it's quite far and I am not quite certain of the distance but I'm sure it's around more than 300 kilometers.

"The tremors in the peninsula were so strong and deadly that killed people. In the Tokyo area, people felt the tremors but it was not that strong, and since this is a peninsula area basically, there was not much population there except for the English teachers teaching English in primary schools and so forth.

"But so far as I know, there are no Samoans that live there in that peninsula. The Embassy of Samoa in Japan should have more accurate information but I know there are several people in Tokyo."

Samoa Observer sent an email to the Samoan Ambassador in Japan, Faalavaau Perina Sila- Tualaulelei last week and called her on her listed phone contact number last week but was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Mr. Keisuke also confirmed that a former Manu Samoa player and coach, Afa Aiono and his family also live in Japan at Aichi prefecture which is also far from the epicenter.

He added that another part of Japan where most Polynesians live is Fukushima which is close to Tokyo.

According to the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, 100 rescuers were sent to the town of Suzu after learning that two women were buried alive.

Citing local police sources, the newspaper reported that the elderly woman was responsive, but believed to be suffering from hypothermia.

At the same site, rescuers also found a woman in her 40s in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, reports said.

The first 72 hours of a rescue operation are considered critical because, after that, the chances of finding people alive drop substantially. The two women were found days after that window closed.