Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has canceled his planned trip to Central Asia, opting to remain in Japan amid rising concerns about a potential “megaquake” along the Pacific coast. This decision follows a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck Kyushu on Thursday, injuring eight individuals and prompting a tsunami warning.
Originally set to depart on Friday for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Mongolia, Kishida stated, “As the prime minister with the highest responsibility for crisis management, I decided I should stay in Japan for at least a week.” He acknowledged the heightened anxiety among the public after the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued its first warning under a new system established following the catastrophic 2011 earthquake that resulted in a deadly tsunami and nuclear disaster, claiming around 18,500 lives.
The JMA noted that while the likelihood of a significant earthquake is currently heightened, it does not guarantee that a major quake will definitely occur. The warning specifically pertains to the Nankai Trough, an 800-kilometer long trench beneath the Pacific, where two tectonic plates converge and which has historically been associated with major earthquakes and tsunamis.
Additionally, on Friday, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake occurred in Tokyo and eastern Japan; however, Kishida confirmed that no major damage had been reported. The quake’s epicenter was located in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is not situated within the Nankai Trough zone.
Japan, located on four major tectonic plates, experiences approximately 1,500 earthquakes annually, most of which are minor. Although larger quakes can occur, the country’s advanced building methods and established emergency response protocols typically help contain their impact.
Experts have previously estimated that there is a roughly 70 percent chance of a megaquake occurring within the next 30 years, which could devastate parts of Japan’s Pacific coastline and potentially endanger about 300,000 lives in a worst-case scenario.