British teacher missing in Japan for a week

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Japanese police are searching for a British woman who has been missing for nearly a week.

Alice Hodgkinson, a 28-year-old from Nottingham, failed to show up to work on 1 July.

She had been working as an English teacher at a school in Kanagawa, a prefecture - or region - south of Japan capital Tokyo.

Police have launched a search operation and Ms Hodgkinson's family have appealed for information on social media.

Her brother, Peter Hodgkinson, said: "We have Nottinghamshire Police setting up a link with the police in Japan over Interpol to deliver news and information to us, but this does take a few days to get setup.

"The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office also have an incident logged."

He added: "I want people to be found that are missing, I want everyone to feel safe and confident living their life to the full.

"Whilst focusing on Alice I didn't expect the impact that this would have on so many people's lives."

Ms Hodgkinson's father, Stephen Hodgkinson, said he usually heard from his daughter "pretty regularly".

"The first I heard that something was wrong was when the manager of her school called to say that she had missed work for a few days and that they were concerned about her well-being," he told the Daily Telegraph.

"I last spoke to her on the day before she disappeared and there was no indication that anything was wrong. She had sent me a Father's Day present and an e-mail and I wanted to thank her.

"There was nothing out of the ordinary at all, nothing suspicious."

The foreign office said it is working with authorities in Japan.

A spokesperson said: "We are in contact with local authorities in Japan regarding a missing British woman. Consular staff are in touch with her family in the UK."

Anyone with information about where Ms Hodgkinson might be is asked to contact Kanagawa Prefecture Police HQ.