Up to 298,000 people are expected to be killed in Japan, due mainly to a tsunami and collapsing buildings, if an earthquake of around magnitude 9 occurs in the Nankai Trough off the country's Pacific coast, the government said Monday in a report compiled by an experts' panel.
In the government's previous projection in 2012 and 2013, the death toll from the potential Nankai Trough earthquake was estimated at some 323,000.
The latest projection reflects an increase in the number of antiseismic buildings and the development of tsunami evacuation facilities. Meanwhile, the latest terrain and ground data indicated that flooded areas would expand.
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