The Japan Pharmaceutical Association has sent a special vehicle to provide medication to people affected by a series of powerful earthquakes that struck the Noto Peninsula.

The so-called "mobile pharmacy" is equipped like normal pharmaceutical dispensary, with shelves to store pills and packaging devices.

The vehicle, dispatched from Gifu Prefecture, left the headquarters of the Ishikawa Pharmaceutical Association on Sunday with local pharmacists and other staff. It headed for Suzu City, one of the most severely damaged areas.

The Ishikawa association says this is the first time for a mobile pharmacy to be sent to a disaster-struck area in the prefecture. It will dispense medicine based on prescriptions from doctors working with emergency medical teams.

One of the pharmacists, Hashimoto Masako, said there must be people in the area who feel unwell or have run out of their usual prescriptions. She said she will do her utmost to assist them.

The Japan Pharmaceutical Association is considering sending similar vehicles to the hard-hit areas of Wajima City and Anamizu Town in coordination with local pharmacists.

Meanwhile, Japan's health ministry has already notified prefectural governments and other relevant entities that people should be allowed to obtain medicine under certain conditions even if they have no prescription.