Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has cancelled his planned four-day visit to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia. (Photo: PTI)
2 min read Last Updated: August 10, 2024 | 11:51 AM IST
The prime minister canceled a planned visit to Central Asia next week as Japan stepped up disaster preparedness measures following a warning of a major earthquake hitting a wide area along the Pacific coast, local media reported Saturday.
Kyodo News reported that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida canceled a planned four-day visit to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, saying the move came a day after following a recommendation from the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has announced that it predicts that the probability of a major earthquake occurring around the Nankai Trough is higher than usual.
A powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck off the coast of southern Japan on Thursday.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said tsunamis of up to 1.6 feet were observed off the coast of southern Kyushu and near Shikoku about 30 minutes after the quake struck.
The quake hit the Kyushu city of Nichinan and surrounding areas in Miyazaki Prefecture most hard.
Japan's NHK public broadcaster said there were reports of broken windows at Miyazaki Airport, near the epicenter.
Japan's Meteorological Agency also said an earthquake with a provisional magnitude of 5.3 struck near Tokyo on Friday, adding that it did not appear to be linked to a possible massive quake in the Nankai Trough.
The quake, which struck at 7:57 p.m., registered a seismic intensity of 5 lower 7 in western Kanagawa Prefecture. The epicenter was 13 kilometers underground, and no tsunami warning was issued.
Kyodo News reported that JR Central has temporarily suspended operations on the Tokaido Shinkansen line between Shinagawa and Shizuoka stations.
The Nankai Trough is an undersea trench that runs along the Pacific coast of Japan where the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate intersect.
Japan is an earthquake-prone country located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and experts say a magnitude 8-9 earthquake could occur along the Nankai Trough within the next few decades, shaking large swaths of the country and triggering tsunamis up to 30 metres high.
An earthquake struck Noto in north-central Japan on January 1 this year, leaving an estimated 240 people dead.
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First Published: August 10, 2024 | 11:51 AM IST
