– I have decided to stay in Japan for at least a week, he said. Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida in a conversation with journalists and announced that he was canceling a planned four-day trip to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia. “As prime minister, I bear the highest responsibility for crisis management in the country,” he added.
The decision follows the release by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) first in history “megaquake” warnings for areas adjacent to the Nankai Fault.
The message came a few hours after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. As a result of the tremors eight people were injured. No major damage was reported. The epicenter was located at the sea of Hyuga-nadaat a depth of 30 meters.
Warnings have been issued against tsunami. Due to the danger, residents of the prefectures Kochi, Miyazaki, Oita, Kagoshima and Ehime were asked to “move away from the coast immediately.”
Earthquakes in Japan. There are 1.5 thousand tremors per year
“The probability of another strong earthquake is bigger than usualbut this does not mean that it will definitely occur,” JMA representatives said.
Residents were advised to take “everyday” precautions, such as securing furniture and developing a communication system in the event of a disaster.
Japanese government experts had previously predicted that an earthquake on the Nankai fault could occur along the boundary of tectonic plates between Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture and the marine areas off the coast of Kyushu Island.
As warned, this could result in a strong tsunami, which – in the worst-case scenario – would kill over 230,000 people and destroy around 2 million buildings. According to the authorities there is a 70 percent probabilitythat in the next 30 years the archipelago a powerful earthquake of at least magnitude 8-9 will strike.
Japan is located at the junction of several tectonic plates, along the so-called “fire belt” in the Pacific. An archipelago inhabited by about 125 million people experiences about 1.5 thousand tremors per year. Most of them, however, have little strength.