China says it is willing to provide help to Japan on earthquake

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is willing to provide necessary help to Japan on the massive earthquake that struck the country on New Year's Day, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

There have been no Chinese casualties reported from the earthquake, ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing.

Japanese authorities have confirmed 62 deaths so far, making the earthquake the deadliest in Japan since at least 2016.

Asked about the airplanes collision at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Tuesday, Wang said there were no Chinese citizens injured in the accident, adding that Japan had not made any request for assistance.

There were 14 Hong Kong tourists on the Japan Airlines plane involved, and the Chinese embassy in Japan has gotten in touch with them, Wang said.

The collision, which sparked concerns about runway safety, killed five of six crew on the smaller De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop, while all 379 people aboard the Japan Airlines Airbus A350 survived.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Ethan Wang; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)