Japan’s PM Cancels Foreign Trip Following “Megaquake” Alert

A four-day trip to Central Asia was canceled by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday after government scientists issued a warning that Japan should get ready for a potential “megaquake.”

The weather agency stated that a massive earthquake was more likely to occur after Thursday’s magnitude 7.1 shock in the south that injured fourteen people.

There may be delays for around a week as a result of some bullet trains between Tokyo and western Osaka operating more slowly as a precaution, according to the rail operator.

Authorities also ordered nuclear plants across the country to confirm their catastrophe plans.

On social networking site X, the Japanese phrase for “hoarding” became popular as users voiced worries about panic buying and urged one another to maintain composure.

Premier Kishida was scheduled to visit Mongolia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan on Friday in order to participate in a regional conference.

“I decided I should stay in Japan for at least a week as the prime minister with the highest responsibility for crisis management,” he said to reporters.

After the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) released its first alert under a new method created in the wake of a significant magnitude 9.0 earthquake that occurred in 2011, resulting in a horrific tsunami and nuclear accident, he claimed the public must be feeling “very anxious.”

The JMA stated, “A major earthquake is not certain to occur, but the likelihood of a new one occurring is higher than normal.”

“Risk is low but elevated.”
There was no significant damage recorded after Thursday’s earthquake off the southern island of Kyushu, although traffic lights, automobiles, and glassware fell off shelves.

Two significant injuries were among the 14 persons reported injured, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The 125 million-person Japanese archipelago, which sits atop four major tectonic plates, experiences about 1,500 earthquakes year, the most of which are small.

Advanced building techniques and well-practiced emergency procedures help to contain the impact even in greater tremors.

According to earlier official estimates, there is an approximately 70% chance that a megaquake would occur over the next 30 years.

In the worst-case scenario, scientists predict that it might threaten an estimated 300,000 lives and impact a significant portion of Japan’s Pacific coastline.

According to experts at Earthquake Insights, it is difficult to forecast an earthquake and the likelihood of a second one is “still always low” even in situations where it is heightened.

At least 318 people were killed when a 7.6-magnitude earthquake and strong aftershocks struck the Noto Peninsula on the coast of the Sea of Japan on January 1. The earthquake also destroyed roads and buildings.

The massive 9.0 magnitude underwater earthquake that struck northeastern Japan in 2011 caused a tsunami that killed or left almost 18,500 people missing.

It caused the most catastrophic nuclear accident since Chernobyl and the worst post-war disaster in Japan by sending three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant into meltdown.

The massive Nankai Trough off the coast of eastern Japan is a potential source of a future megaquake. Major earthquakes with magnitudes of eight or nine have occurred there in the past, usually in pairs.

These included one in 1707, the greatest known eruption of Mount Fuji until 2011; there were also two more in 1944 and 1946.

“Ensure that there is enough water in their home to last for approximately a week following an earthquake,” advises the public. And possibly batteries for their torch” as part of their standard safety measures, Robert Geller, University of Tokyo professor emeritus of seismology, told AFP.

“But aside from that, nothing special needs to be done.”