Scientists in Japan have warned that there may be a “megaquake” off the country’s Southern coast.
As a result, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday postponed a scheduled trip to Central Asia to spearhead the government’s reaction.
Following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that occurred far off the eastern coast of Kyushu island, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first-ever “megaquake advisory” on Thursday, alerting people to the possibility of a future big earthquake caused by the underwater Nankai Trough.
In the past, destructive earthquakes have been caused by the trough that runs down Japan’s Pacific coast.
Seismologists at the agency held an emergency meeting after Thursday’s quake to analyse whether it had affected the nearby trough and reassessed the risk of a major quake.
They urged people to observe high caution levels for about a week.
Thursday’s quake injured 16 people, most of them slightly, and caused no major damage. Tsunami advisories were issued for several areas but lifted hours later.
Kishida announced that he had canceled his planned Aug. 9-12 trip to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia as a result of the advisory.
The meteorological agency’s first “megaquake advisory” sparked public unease and prompted local government offices, rail operators and other agencies to begin introducing precautionary measures, affecting holiday travelers during the summer “Obon” holiday week.
Some municipalities closed parks or cancelled events for the coming week, although officials and experts stressed that there was no need to shut down any normal activity.
They said the advisory was aimed only at raising awareness of an increased probability over the long term, and that it was not for any specific timeframe or location.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi called on people to carry on daily social and economic activities such as traveling.
