Japan earthquake: Your stories
The relief operation is continuing in Japan after Friday's magnitude 8.9 quake, which triggered a tsunami that devastated swathes of the north-eastern coast.
Technicians are battling to stabilise a third reactor at the quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which has been rocked by a second blast in three days.
BBC News website readers have been sending their stories of the situation at the affected areas:
Mark Kemp, Fukushima Prefecture
I have been teaching English in Japan for four years and live quite close to the damaged nuclear power station.
The official line is that there is no danger of radiation exposure, but we have been hearing conflicting things from unofficial sources about what's happening.
We're still concerned because there seems to have been two explosions. So how many more?
The risk of radiation contamination seems to be a real concern as they are extending testing for radioactivity and there are also conflicting signals from the Japanese nuclear agency about what is safe.
We have a bit of information but we're not sure how much is being told. It's all fairly worrying.
Regis de Lavison, Fukushima Prefecture
I live 60 kilometres away from the nuclear reactor. The authorities have evacuated everyone within 20 kilometres.
The Japanese are risk-averse so I'm sure the reactors have been built to withstand multiple aftershocks.
If there are further evacuations then we'll know a breach is imminent.
But leaving isn't an option. The motorways are closed and I don't want to move my family and be stranded in the middle of nowhere without access to food, water or shelter.
This situation is of course catastrophic but the news tends to focus only on the destruction.
Despite the magnitude of Friday's earthquake it is difficult to find signs in Fukushima City of how viciously the ground moved.
Most damage seems to be limited to freestanding walls bordering properties that were not reinforced.
Presently, the lack of gasoline, food, continuous aftershocks, and the prospect of a meltdown at the nuclear reactor followed by radioactive fallout reminds everyone of the serious situation we are in.
This, however, is little compared to the tens of thousands of people in coastal areas who have lost their homes if not their lives. I count my blessings that my home is still standing and that my family is safe and sound.
This morning I went out to buy provisions for my family. Everyone formed an orderly queue outside the supermarket.
I bought items such as floor, rice, pasta. Purchases were restricted to ten items.
Colette Buker, Sendai
I am an Assistant Language Teacher at Tomiya High School and live in the outskirts of Sendai in one of the less-damaged parts of the city - far enough away from the tsunami damage and from Fukishima, so I'm relatively safe.
The only real problems I'm having are with power and water. I was lucky and my water supply came back on again for half a day and I filled my bathtub, so I'm living off that just now. I'm hoping that it will come back on tomorrow.
Buildings here have withstood the damage really well. On Friday I visited my friend's house and small parts of his apartment had fallen off.
Today I walked a little further to the rural area. The roads have caved in and there seems to have been real damage to the bridges.
The pavement had really caved in too, but people were still allowed to walk on it which I found surprising.
Banks aren't open but the shops are open for a small part of the day.
Walking around my town I can see long queues for supermarkets but people are queueing patiently and orderly and seemingly only buying what they really need.
People look to be queuing for four to five hours and have small boxes that they fill with basic groceries
Since the quake, in what has been a scary and confusing time here in Sendai, the Japanese people have been astonishingly calm and efficient.
I've seen no signs of hysteria despite most households still being without running water and electricity.
It seems that people have a lot of faith in Japan's ability to get back on her feet after such a devastating event.
Peter Majtan, Machida City
One person died in the supermarket next door to where I live.
A three storey ramp collapsed and three other people were trapped in their cars in the ramp for a couple of days.
They are now in serious condition in hospital.
The nuclear stuff is not really affecting us.
Everyone knows that the prevailing winds are eastwards and if anything happens at the plant it will carry it out to the ocean.
People are worried about a shortage of electricity and water but for now we are okay.
The shops are empty of the basics. Most of the gas stations are closed.
The ones that are opened only have the most expensive type of gas in limited quantities. I think people are being over cautious.
People are trying to go to work but there are major delays on the trains. The possibility of another earthquake - this time in Tokyo, is the main concern.
Tim Lindenschmidt, Takaneza Twon, Tocigi prefecture
There has been much clean-up here but some roads are still impassable.
There has been talk of rolling blackouts but they have been reduced in scope - I guess because people have been conserving energy so there has been no need for a full blackout.
In the shops there is a shortage of rice and toilet paper.
Bread and milk isn't even being delivered here - supplies are being sent to the north.
Supermarkets are limiting the amount of people who are allowed in at any one time.