Japan lifts “mega-earthquake” alert and calls for a return to normality

After a week of uncertainty, Japanese authorities have cancelled the warning of a possible “mega-earthquake” but are urging the population to remain vigilant against possible future quakes.

The Japanese government has decided to lift the alert for a possible “megaterremoto» issued a week ago, which had caused concern and affected daily life in several regions of the country. The decision was announced on Thursday by the Minister of Disaster Management, Yoshifumi Matsumura, who assured that no «anomalies in seismic activity or in the deformation of the earth’s crust» have been detected. Despite this assessment, Matsumura stressed that the risk of a major earthquake has not completely disappeared, urging the population to continue taking daily precautions.

The alert was issued after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook southern Japanleaving 15 people injured. The Japan Meteorological Agency’s warning had said the chances of another tremor were higher than usual, prompting a wave of caution across the country. Thousands of tourist reservations were cancelled, and many residents flocked to supermarkets to stock up on provisions. Even Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called off a planned trip to Central Asia to oversee the emergency situation.

The focus of concern was on the Nankai Trench, an area of ​​high seismic activity that has been the epicentre of devastating earthquakes in the past. Located between two tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean, the trench stretches for 800 kilometres off Japan’s Pacific coast, including the region of Tokyo, the world’s largest metropolis.

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Although the alert has been lifted, the Japanese government continues to warn about the possibility of future earthquakes in this area. It is estimated that there is a 70% chance that a major earthquake will occur in the Nankai Trough in the next 30 years, which could have catastrophic consequences. Japan continues to prepare for this eventual scenario, remembering the tragedy of March 11, 2011, when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, leaving approximately 20,000 dead or missing.