By Chisa Fujioka
MOTOYOSHI, Japan, March 24 (Reuters) - Seventy-one year old Masashi Kikuchi and his son have been driving up and down the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast of Japan looking for his wife, their agony made sharper by a severe fuel shortage.
Japan has a ${esc.dollar}5 trillion economy - the world&${esc.hash}39;s third largest - and petrol rationing is virtually unknown. But the fuel shortage after the March 11 disaster means Kikuchi and his son cannot top up their car&${esc.hash}39;s gas tank, at least for now.
"My son gets fuel for his car every day but can only get up to 3,000 yen (${esc.dollar}37) worth of fuel at one time," he said. At current prices that buys 18 litres of gasoline.
"But at the end of the day after visiting all the morgues, there is not much fuel left in the car. So he has to go get more in the morning. We have been repeating this routine."
Besides distribution problems in the disaster area, six refineries shut down after the quake, leading to a nationwide fuel shortage and queues at gas stations in Tokyo and other areas.
But the Petroleum Association of Japan said three of these refineries had re-opened, and oil supplies were being restored to pre-disaster levels.
A Trade Ministry official said shipments of petrol from elsewhere in Japan were being stepped up to the northeast and the government was reducing the mandatory reserve requirements that oil suppliers must maintain.
But for now, the shortages are exacerbating the chaos of finding and cremating dead bodies, clearing debris and restoring a semblance of normality in the disaster zone.
Cars stand in mile-long queues in front of gas stations, with emergency and supply trucks getting preference.
In the devastated town of Motoyoshi, attendants were pedalling on a bicycle pump to get petrol out of an underground tank. The gas station&${esc.hash}39;s usual pumps had been damaged by the tsunami.
"There were 10,000 litres left in the tank and there was no problem with the quality of the gasoline. We wanted to share this with everyone"" said Koichi Onodera, 52, operator of the station, which reopened on Wednesday.
"We just didn&${esc.hash}39;t want the gasoline to go to waste," he said, as cars queued up, alongside an overturned truck covered with tree branches and a sign buried in rubble on a wrecked highway.
But rationing is in place, and each car is only allowed 18 litres of gasoline for 3,000 yen (${esc.dollar}37).
"There isn&${esc.hash}39;t gasoline anywhere. We heard from our neighbours so we&${esc.hash}39;re grateful," said Kazuaki Sasaki, 45, who came with his wife to the Motoyoshi station.
Most survivors have only cars to rely on to get to relief centres where there is water and food. Many also use cars to go to evacuation centres to see relatives and friends, and also to go back to their homes, or what remains of them, to search for belongings.
In the town of Okirai, Principal Toshiyuki Chiba helped put gas from petrol canisters into cars after a school graduation ceremony.
"People just can&${esc.hash}39;t get enough gas," he said. "They have so many things to do because of the tsunami, like get food, that require them to drive. They run out of gas too quickly."
(${esc.dollar}1 = 81 yen) (Additional reporting by Yoko Nishikawa and Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Sanjeev Miglani)
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