An earthquake off the coast of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu prompted the government to issue its first warning of a mega-quake resulting from an undersea trench running along one of the country’s coastlines.
Following the warning, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cancelled a planned trip to Central Asia out of caution. High-speed trains ran at reduced speeds, national broadcaster NHK showed warning images and some semiconductor factories temporarily stopped production. Some beaches in the affected regions have been closed for the time being, according to local reports.
A megaquake in the so-called Nankai Trough could exceed the destruction caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the north coast of the main island of Honshu. In the zone where the Philippine Sea Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian continental plate, major earthquakes occur in 100- to 150-year cycles.
The precautionary earthquake risk warning system, introduced in 2019, comes into effect when an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 or higher hits an area where mega-thrusting is expected, or when anomalous plate displacement is detected. Depending on the magnitude of the earthquake at the time, authorities can issue different levels of warning and, in some cases, warn people to flee tsunami-prone areas for up to a week.
“This is advice to prepare for the possibility of more major earthquakes,” Kishida told reporters in Nagasaki, where he was attending celebrations marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing. “It is not a warning to evacuate in advance, nor is it an announcement that an earthquake will occur within a certain time, but it is the first time, so I think people will be extremely worried.”
The 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Kyushu on Thursday and there were reports of several injuries and limited damage. The island is home to Sony Group Corp.’s semiconductor factories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has opened a factory there, is about to open a second later this year and is considering opening a third.
NHK interrupted its Olympic coverage to report on the quake and the megaquake warning that followed, and published more bulletins on Friday. A 2019 government panel analysis estimated that in a worst-case scenario, a Nankai trough earthquake could kill more than 230,000 people.
In the past, smaller quakes have often followed large earthquakes. The foreshocks began two days before the magnitude 9 earthquake in 2011, the strongest in Japan. The damage from the quake and the ensuing tsunami claimed nearly 20,000 lives and led to a meltdown and radiation leak from a nuclear plant in Fukushima.
Central Japan Railway Co. said its bullet trains between Tokyo and western Japan would run at slower speeds until the warning is lifted. Japan’s regulator said it had issued alerts to all of the country’s nuclear power plants to take precautionary measures. Electronics component maker Kyocera Corp. said some equipment had been damaged at a plant in Kagoshima.
Local governments and companies are reacting after the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a warning on Thursday. Stock prices closed the day slightly higher and the yen was little changed at around 147 yen per dollar.
Chipmaker Rohm Co. has temporarily suspended operations in Miyazaki Prefecture in Kyushu and conducted safety checks, according to a spokesman. Sumco Corp., a maker of silicon wafers needed for chipmaking, has suspended operations at its plant in Miyazaki, according to a representative.
Hiroaki Maruya, a professor at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, said companies could use the opportunity to abandon their business continuity plans or conduct disaster drills after the alert.
“NHK reported on this event, so they might do something,” Maruya said.
Suntory Holdings Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corp. and other companies said they were conducting reviews and were alert to further developments.
Regional utility Kyushu Electric Power Co. said it had set up a task force to organize communications with its power plants. A company spokesman said its nuclear plants – the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant in Saga Prefecture and the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima Prefecture – were designed to withstand a Nankai-type trough quake.
Chubu Electric Power Co., a power company serving central Japan, said it had set up a network to improve communication between headquarters and branches, according to a spokesman.
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