The government said much more needs to be done to prepare for a possible “megaquake” to reduce the feared death toll of up to 300,000 people.
Quakes are extremely hard to predict. But in January, a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82%.
The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a megaquake and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths.
In 2014 the Central Disaster Management Council issued a preparedness plan recommending a series of measures that it hoped would reduce deaths by 80%.
But the government has said that so far the steps taken would only cut the toll by 20%, Kyodo news agency reported, and an updated preparedness plan was issued on Tuesday.
The plan recommended accelerated efforts including constructing embankments and evacuation buildings as well as more regular drills to improve public readiness.
“It is necessary for the nation, municipalities, companies and non-profits to come together and take measures in order to save as many lives as possible,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a government meeting, according to local media reports.
The Japan Meteorological Association (JMA) last August issued its first advisory warning that the likelihood had risen. But it was lifted again after a week.
“It is impossible with current science to predict earthquakes by specifying the location, time and magnitude of an earthquake, and to say that an earthquake will or will not occur,” Ryoichi Nomura, head of the JMA, said in May.
“We ask the public to take certain steps so that you can cope with earthquakes no matter when they occur.
“But we also strongly urge the public not to make irrational actions driven by anxiety,” Nomura added. — AFP
