The death toll from the strong earthquake that rocked Japan's Hokkaido on Thursday has risen to 42, while one person in the town of Atsuma, one of the hardest-hit areas by the quake, is still missing, Xinhua reported quoting the Japanese government.

The government's top spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, told a press conference that a total of 41,000 people and 74 helicopters were searching for the one last missing person and helping the disaster-hit areas.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck Hokkaido prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time Thursday.