Torrential rain triggered landslides in parts of central Japan on Saturday (July 3), swallowing buildings and burying roads.
Video shared with Reuters showed the mud and debris which had collapsed from the hillside covering roads.
In Atami, a landslide swept through houses, leaving 20 people missing.
The rainfall deluging the city since Friday (July 2) has already exceeded the average July levels for both Shizuoka prefecture , where Atami is located, and neighboring Kanagawa prefecture, according to public broadcaster NHK.