Warning is precautionary; Prime Minister Fumio Kishida canceled trip to Central Asia
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning on Thursday (8 August 2024) about the risk of a mega-earthquake and tsunamis. The statement was made after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the southern coast of the country.
“The possibility of a major earthquake occurring is higher than normal, but this does not indicate that a major earthquake will occur for sure.”, reads the statement (fullin Japanese – PDF – 3 MB).
Japan is part of the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” where different tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust meet and create frequent seismic activity.
The earthquake on Thursday (8th August) did not cause significant material damage. Authorities say there were 8 injured.
According to the agency Reutersthis was the first time that the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a warning about the risk of a mega-earthquake on the country’s Pacific coast.
Due to the incident, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Liberal Democratic Party) cancelled his planned trip to Central Asia.I have decided to stay in the country for the next week or so to ensure our preparations and communications are in order.”, said Kishida in an interview with journalists this Friday (9.Aug), quoted by the news agency.
According to him, although the Japan Meteorological Agency has not recommended evacuations, he stated that people “would be anxious“since a warning like this had not been made before. Therefore, I would remain in Japan to coordinate future actions if necessary.
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