Japanese experts have warned of the possibility of a mega-earthquake after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Thursday, injuring eight people. “The probability of another strong earthquake is higher than normal, but this does not mean that an earthquake will definitely occur,” the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
This is the first such warning since the new warning system was put in place after the devastating earthquake in 2011.
However, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Friday that he was canceling a planned trip to Central Asia. “As the prime minister with the highest responsibility for crisis management, I have decided to stay in Japan for at least one week,” Kishida told reporters.
Traffic lights and vehicles were damaged during the 7.1-magnitude earthquake on Thursday, but no significant damage was reported.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said eight people were injured, many from falling objects.
Plate cutting
At the crossroads of several tectonic plates along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, Japan has one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
The archipelago, home to about 125 million people, experiences about 1,500 tremors a year, most of them low-magnitude.
Even strong earthquakes usually cause little damage, thanks in particular to the use of earthquake-resistant construction standards and public awareness of emergency measures.
The Japanese government has previously established that there is a 70% probability of a mega earthquake in the country within the next 30 years. Experts say the quake will affect a significant portion of Japan’s Pacific coast and threaten about 300,000 people.
An impossible prediction
“Although predicting earthquakes is impossible, the probability of an earthquake occurring generally increases,” explains the experts in the special newsletter Earthquake Intelligence. But according to them, even as the risk of a new earthquake increases, it remains “always low”.
On January 1, a powerful earthquake struck the center of the country, killing at least 318 people.
Japan’s most powerful earthquake ever recorded hit its northeast coast on March 11, 2011, with a magnitude of 9, triggering a tidal wave that left about 20,000 people dead or missing.