Many civilians are also reported to be digging through the rubble with their bare hands, in an effort to find lost loved ones. Japanese officials have so far not requested outside emergency rescue teams. It has, however, expressed its thankfulness to the countries that offered it. The statement was made in regard to an Israeli offer to send an army canine unit that was trained to search for survivors buried in debris. Some Swiss army search dogs, however, were reported to be enroute to Japan to offer their assistance.
Many problems lie ahead for the devastated areas near Kobe and Osaka.
Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama toured the devastated areas and publicly focused on establishing better earthquake-proof construction standards. Outside rescue experts say that there may be a number of political and psychological reasons that the rescue efforts have been delayed or not requested at all by the Murayama government. Rescue experts from the United States and elsewhere say that it is likely that still more entrapped people will be pulled alive from the debris. He said that Japanese leaders may have been unwilling to publicly admit that their own rescue forces were unprepared to effectively manage the emergency response to the Kobe quake. Secondarily, he said, admitting the vast devastation that is evident in the Kobe area is tantamount to admitting that Japanese earthquake preparedness and construction standards are not as effective as many had hoped.