Cathay Pacific was running a special offer for people wishing to flee Japan for Hong Kong and Vietnam Airlines said it would lay on larger planes on its Tokyo-Hanoi route, offering big discounts for Vietnamese wishing to return.
Switzerland promised charter flights if commercial carriers couldn't meet demand and Russia was to begin evacuating dependents of its diplomatic and commercial personnel in Tokyo on Friday.
Hotels were booked out in the western hub of Osaka, with foreigners and Japanese alike descending there from Tokyo in the search for accommodation and office space, including foreign embassies.
