Japan's prime minister stated that the country will invest an extra $660 million to reconstruct the districts that were devastated by a severe earthquake on New Year's Day, bringing the total amount of help for the disaster to $1.7 billion.

A massive fire was started, houses were toppled, roads were torn up, and the Ishikawa region on the Sea of Japan coast was ravaged by the magnitude 7.5 earthquake and its aftershocks.

Over 10,000 people sought safety in shelters and hotels, and as of right now, 241 confirmed deaths have resulted from the tragedy. Water is still cut off in several areas of Ishikawa.

As he surveyed the situation in the earthquake-affected areas on Saturday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the additional financial assistance.

Reporters were informed by Kishida in the hardest-hit city of Wajima, "The living conditions at temporary shelters are improving, but I will bear in mind that the reality remains tough as ever."

"The government's determination to work toward providing more support was reinforced by the inspection," the official stated.

The extra 100 billion yen ($660 million) in expenditure that Kishida claimed will be authorized by his Cabinet in the next few days from the reserve funds of the current fiscal year, which are used for disaster relief and other emergencies.

With the funds now estimated to exceed 260 billion yen ($1.7 billion), this will be the third time that they have been allocated for relief operations following the earthquake on New Year's Day.

According to Kishida, a portion of the newest money would go toward funding a system of subsidies aimed at assisting young, parent-centered families in rebuilding their houses that have been devastated.

The prime minister promised greater assistance for Wajima's traditional artifact business, which is renowned for its fine lacquerware, and added that efforts would be accelerated to build prefabricated temporary housing.

As of last month, a government assessment put the estimated damage from the earthquake in Ishikawa and two neighboring counties between 1.1 trillion yen ($7.4 billion) and 2.6 trillion yen ($17.6 billion).

However, even the highest estimate pales in comparison to the 16.9 trillion yen in damages inflicted upon northeastern Japan by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The catastrophe, which resulted in the greatest nuclear accident to hit the globe since Chernobyl, caused a meltdown at the Fukushima atomic facility, leaving almost 18,500 people dead or missing.

End//voice7news.tv