Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday canceled a planned four-day visit to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia as Japan stepped up disaster prevention measures amid a growing risk of a major earthquake along a vast swath of the Pacific coast.
The latest developments come a day after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first warning of a higher-than-normal chance of a major earthquake occurring around the Nankai Trough after a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck southwestern Japan.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference in Nagasaki on August 9, 2024. (Kyodo News)
Speaking at a press conference in Nagasaki after attending a peace ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing, Foreign Minister Kishida said he had canceled his overseas trip “in order to focus on the government's response and disseminating information” about the possibility of a major earthquake.
“As the person in charge of the country's crisis management, it is necessary for me to remain in Japan for at least a week just to be on the safe side,” Foreign Minister Kishida said, adding that the Japan Meteorological Agency was calling on the public to prepare for such an eventuality.
Abe was scheduled to attend his first summit with the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on Friday night and issue a joint declaration.
In the afternoon of the same day, Foreign Minister Kishida held telephone talks with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, respectively, to explain the reasons for the postponement of the visit and promised to “appropriately coordinate” future visits. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both leaders expressed their understanding of the decision.
The Japanese leader was due to meet Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukh and Prime Minister Lubsanamsurai Oyun-Erdene in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, on Monday.
A photo taken on August 9, 2024, shows the remains of a damaged wall in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture, after a powerful earthquake struck southwestern Japan the previous day. (Kyodo)
Related coverage:
Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes southwestern Japan, raising fears of a major earthquake
Japan predicts higher than usual risk of huge earthquakes along Pacific coast
