By DPA,
Tokyo : The damage from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan this month could top $300 billion, government officials said Friday.
The cost is expected to range from 16 billion to 25 billion yen ($197 billion to $308.5 billion), Kyodo news agency reported citing the Japanese government.
At least 9,811 people are confirmed dead in the March 11 disaster, but more than 17,450 remain missing.
In Miyagi prefecture, officials have posted information about some 2,000 bodies on the internet in the hopes relatives can help to identify their loved ones.
In Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, officials have begun to bury bodies without cremating them, as is traditional in Japanese culture, because the crematoriums have been overwhelmed.