Dozens of people were injured in the incident on the mountain, which is about 200km (125 miles) west of Tokyo.
Early on Monday helicopters began searching, as smoke rose from the peak.
Hundreds of firefighters, police and troops were involved in the operation, which later had to be halted because of the adverse conditions.
Twelve bodies have been recovered so far. Another 24 are reported to be on the mountain, after five more were located during the course of the day.
Monday's search centred on a mountain lodge on Mount Ontake
Eventually toxic gases and ash forced the search teams to suspend their operation
Some of the bodies were found in a lodge near the summit and others were buried in ash up to 50cm (20in) deep, Japanese media reported.
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