Great Kanto Quake drills held nationwide

Artificial disaster: Mori Building Company employees experiencing simulated smoke during a fire as part of the earthquake disaster drill at Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills. — AFP

PRIME Minister Fumio Kishida staged a televised disaster drill yesterday based on a fictional earthquake in the capital region, as his country marked the centennial of the real-life 1923 Great Kanto Quake that killed more than 100,000 people.

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck the Sagamihara area southwest of Tokyo on Sept 1, 1923, just before noon triggered a widespread inferno in the region, causing most of the victims to perish in the fire.