Japan Bolsters Disaster Preparedness Amid Megaquake Warning

Japan increases disaster preparedness following a megaquake advisory along the Pacific coast. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cancels a trip to Central Asia due to heightened earthquake risks. Recent quakes and tsunami warnings prompt immediate action.

Japan is ramping up its disaster preparedness after an advisory warned of a massive earthquake along the Pacific coast. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has cancelled a planned trip to Central Asia, reports local media.

Kyodo News highlighted that Kishida's decision came a day after the Japan Meteorological Agency released the advisory. The agency predicts a higher-than-usual probability of a megaquake around the Nankai Trough. On Thursday, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off Japan's southern coast.

Tsunami waves up to 1.6 feet were detected along parts of Kyushu's southern coast and the island of Shikoku. Nichinan city and nearby areas in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu experienced the strongest shaking. NHK public television reported broken windows at Miyazaki airport near the epicenter. Another quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 jolted areas near Tokyo on Friday, though it appears unrelated to the Nankai Trough advisory.

The latest quake measured at a lower 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale of 7 in western Kanagawa Prefecture. The quake's focus was 13 kilometers underground with no tsunami warning issued. Kyodo News reported that Central Japan Railway Co. temporarily halted its Tokaido Shinkansen Line bullet train service between Shinagawa and Shizuoka stations.

The Nankai Trough, an ocean-floor trench along Japan's Pacific coast, intersects the Eurasian and Philippine Sea tectonic plates. Experts warn of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake in the coming decades, potentially creating tsunami waves over 30 meters high. An earthquake on January 1 in Japan's north-central region of Noto left an estimated 240 people dead.

(With inputs from agencies.)