A powerful earthquake that hit Japan's Noto Peninsula nearly a year ago has led to moves to help spread disaster-related information to foreign nationals.

The magnitude 7.6 quake that struck the peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1 highlighted the need for improvements to ensure foreign nationals who do not speak Japanese are informed about disasters and evacuation centers.

In the hope of addressing the issues, moves are spreading across the country to hold evacuation drills involving interpreters and inform foreign nationals about an app providing disaster information not only in Japanese, but also in other languages.