Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda sent a message Monday to Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao saying that Japan is prepared to offer every support to quake-hit China if necessary, the Foreign Ministry said. In the message conveyed through the Japanese Embassy in China, Fukuda also expressed sympathy over the damage caused by the powerful earthquake in western China, it said. According to China's official Xinhua News Agency, up to 10,000 people are feared to have died in the quake with an estimated magnitude of 7.8 that struck at around 2:30 p.m. Monday, causing tremors across China. The Japanese Consulate General in Chongqing, said it had received no reports of damage or injuries connected to the 622 Japanese people living in Chongqing and Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces as of 8 p.m. Japan time. According the consulate, it was unable to assess the extent of the damage as it was having trouble contacting Japanese companies and other Japan-related entities in the areas.