Yoshikazu Takizawa, who had a heart ailment, was found dead in bed at his home in Uonuma, in the centre of a famous rice-growing region some 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Tokyo, Niigata prefectural police said.

Takizawa, who was unemployed, spent the first three nights in a car after the first major quake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Niigata and its vicinity on October 23, followed by numerous aftershocks.

Many residents have stayed in cars to avoid public shelters such as schools as they believe vehicles are safer in the event of another quake, despite most shelters being built to withstand earthquakes.

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