BEIJING - The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Tuesday that 261 Chinese people are not able to be contacted in Japan's quake-hit regions as of 10:00 am Tuesday Beijing Time.

Local commerce departments and China International Contractors Association had succeeded in contacting 22,155 Chinese people in Japan's quake-stricken areas and there were no reports of Chinese casualties, said the ministry, which looks over foreign investment and cooperative projects, in a statement on its website.

The MOC has reminded Chinese companies to verify the situation of Chinese workers and trainees in Japan, keep in touch with China's representative offices in Japan, and postpone dispatching staff to Japan, said the statement.