Japan Prime Minister Vows to Rebuild Country, Death Toll Rises

The death toll grew Friday as Japan paused for the one week mark of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The death toll climbed steadily over the past week and reached nearly 7,000 on Friday. The National Police Agency put the official death toll at 6,911. Officials expect the number of dead to rise as more than 10,000 people remain unaccounted for.

In an address to the public on Friday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed Japan “will overcome this tragedy.” "With a tsunami and earthquake we don't have any room to be pessimistic," he said. "We are going to create Japan again from scratch. We should face this challenge together."

"We are in a situation in which this crisis is truly testing us as a people," Kan added. "While we have been called a small island country, we were able to miraculously rebuild after the war. With the power of the people, we will rebuild this country.

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