Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday pledged all-out support for those affected by a major earthquake that struck central Japan's Ishikawa prefecture and neighbouring regions on New Year's Day.

As part of the relief effort, his government plans to allocate 155.3 billion yen ($1.05 billion) from budget reserves to help local residents and industries recover from the devastating tremor that left more than 200 people dead, Kishida said. ($1 = 147.6600 yen) (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Alex Richardson)