The prime minister said the government would make every effort to deal with the impact of the earthquake that measured 8.9 on the Richter scale and triggered waves of tsunamis.
"Our government will make all-out efforts to minimize the damage caused by the earthquake," Xinhua quoted Kan as saying.
The government has set up a task force to deal with the quake, Kan said as he noted that the temblor has caused extensive damage.
He said so far there was no problem with nuclear power plants.
Initial reports said that six people had been killed.
Published 11 March 2011, 09:42 IST