The number is expected to rise further with search operations being carried out in regions which were previously impassable due to road damages, Kyodo News reported.
In Hokkaido, police found bodies of two men on Friday who had been reported missing earlier, while two other men were still unaccounted for.
In Iwate prefecture where nine bodies were found in a nursing home earlier in the week, several more bodies were found Friday with two people reportedly in a state of cardiac arrest. A number of people remain unaccounted for and over 1,000 people are stranded due to damage of roads.
Meanwhile, another typhoon, the 12th of the season, is approaching and may make landfall in southwestern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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