Search - megaquake

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 25, 2022

Hokkaido underprepared for offshore winter quakes and 'ice tsunami' destruction

Ice tsunamis can block the spaces between buildings and in streets, causing water to overflow into open spaces and cause faster and higher levels of flooding than otherwise expected.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 8, 2022

The tsunami could kill thousands. Can they build an escape?

Along many stretches of the Northwest coast of the U.S., there are no bluffs or high buildings to climb — nowhere to go.
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2021

Tokyo area quake reignites concerns over capital's seismic vulnerability

The Meteorological Agency was quick to dispel speculation that the tremor — a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that shook Tokyo late Thursday night — could be a foreshock for a larger quake.
JAPAN / Remembering 3/11
Mar 6, 2021

A decade on, real challenges lie ahead for communities devastated by March 2011 disaster

With the government poised to significantly reduce the subsidies handed out to areas recovering from the catastrophe, will the city of Ishinomaki be able to stand on its own?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 31, 2020

Prepare for the next disaster with mutual support agreements

Organizations like schools and companies can stand ready to help each other immediately after a crisis hits.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 7, 2019

Time for a national volunteer registry

Each community has its own registration process, cutting into time that could be used for doing the actual volunteer work.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 1, 2019

Natural disasters: Preparing for the unexpected

Disasters can strike anywhere at anytime. Japan must be prepared.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 13, 2018

Natural disasters shake the nation to attention in 2018

You wake to pitch blackness, the house shaking crazily. Nightmare? Yes — a waking one. "Where are my glasses?" You're helpless without your glasses. The shaking gets worse.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2018

Tohoku struggling to get piece of Japan's tourism boom

Japan may be experiencing a swell of foreign tourists, but not all areas of the country are reaping the rewards.
A screenshot of the Nigetore app (left) five minutes after the start of practice evacuation using a 15-minute setting for “preparation time.” On the right, two screenshots show the outcomes of drills and a map indicating an evacuation route with tsunami inundation areas highlighted.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 11, 2023

Tsunami evacuation app offers realistic quake preparation experience

Personal tsunami evacuation drill app Nigetore allows users to choose their own evacuation routes and evaluate their success.
A tsunami advisory, shown in yellow, was issued following an earthquake in Kyushu on Tuesday afternoon.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2024

Tsunami advisory lifted after strong quake jolts Kyushu

The 7.1 magnitude quake, measuring a weak 7 on Japan's intensity scale, triggered small tsunami waves in some areas.
A 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Kanto region on Friday evening.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2024

Magnitude 5.3 quake strikes Kanto region

The quake, with an epicenter in western Kanagawa Prefecture, occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers. There was no threat of a tsunami.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida canceled a four-day visit to Central Asia from Friday to prioritize responding to a higher quake risk.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 11, 2024

Concerns over Central Asia diplomacy after Kishida cancels trip

Some regret that Japan missed an important opportunity to increase its presence in Central Asia.
The platforms at Tokyo Station were packed with passengers on Saturday morning.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2024

Bon holiday visits in full swing amid increased quake fears

Train stations have been crowded with passengers, with some travelers aiming to take extra precautions.
Designed by Bob Foundation in collaboration with Sugita Ace, the Sonaete series of disaster preparedness kits are packaged in bags, boxes and pouches that look attractive in homes.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 13, 2024

Stylish emergency goods can save precious seconds when disaster strikes

Eye-catching go bags, canary-inspired whistles and more aesthetically pleasing emergency preparedness items you'll want to keep within arm's reach.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida leaves at the end of a news conference, in which he announced he is stepping down, at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 14, 2024

Kishida's shock announcement shakes already unsettled Japanese markets

The prime minister's decision to step down follows the Bank of Japan's surprise rate hike just two weeks earlier.
Earthquakes are a fact of life in Japan, but there are strategies to keep yourself from spiraling into stress and despair over future catastrophes.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 17, 2024

Dreading the Big One? How to manage pre-disaster anxiety.

Anxiety about potential natural disasters can take its toll, but mental health experts say there are practical solutions.
People wait to board a Tokaido Shinkansen train at Tokyo Station on Aug. 10.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024

Bon holiday train passengers up 7% despite quake and typhoon worries

The possibility of a megaquake and news that a powerful typhoon was approaching Japan did not dissuade people from traveling for the holidays.
A shelf for emergency goods is seen almost empty at a hardware store in the city of Shizuoka on Aug. 9.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2024

20% take no action over Nankai Trough quake warning

The emergency information was lifted on Aug. 15 as there was no particular change in the state of the plate boundaries near where the quake is expected to occur.
Japan's industrial production gained 1.4% from August, led by cars and chemical product manufacturers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2024

Japan's September factory output beat estimates but was down year on year

While the figures were stronger than forecast, production was weak, and uncertainty over domestic and overseas demand clouds the outlook.
The seaside town of Shika on the Noto Peninsula, where the local power provider, Hokuriku Electric, has been fighting for a decade to restart a nuclear power plant in the town’s center.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 2, 2024

Can quake-prone Japan ever embrace nuclear energy again?

The government, its makeup in flux after the LDP lost seats this week, will soon need to make decisions that will shape Japan's future nuclear policy.
The topics nominated for this year’s buzzwords of the year ranged from new banknotes and Olympian quips to political scandals and rice shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 5, 2024

From cat memes to Olympians with too much rizz, these are Japan's 2024 buzzword nominations

The buzzword of the year, along with the top 10 picks, will be decided from the 30 nominated terms on Dec. 2.
Rescue workers search a flooded area during the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, which caused severe floods at the Chikuma River, in the city of Nagano in October 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jan 12, 2025

Disaster-hardened Japan faces enormous costs from climate change

The total cost in climate damages for the country through 2050 could amount to ¥952 trillion if more ambitious action isn't taken.
Yoshiteru Murosaki, professor emeritus of disaster prevention planning at Kobe University, says poor environments at evacuation centers following disasters remain a concern.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025

Expert calls for more discussions on earthquake preparedness

The expert mentioned poor environments at evacuation centers as one of the problems persisting since the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.
The city of Toyama. Under a new plan, the government of Toyama Prefecture, which lies on the Sea of Japan coast, will send officials to Shizuoka Prefecture in the event of a Nankai Trough megaquake.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2025

Partner prefecture plan eyed for Nankai Trough quake

The ministry will formally adopt the new plan by the end of fiscal 2024 for implementation in April.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan