37m agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 8:56am<\/p>\n
Japan’s seismic risk shaped by Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’<\/p>\n
Japan lies on top of four major tectonic plates along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, making it one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries.<\/p>\n
The 800-kilometre Nankai Trough is a key area of concern, where the Philippine Sea oceanic tectonic plate is “subducting” \u2014 or slowly slipping \u2014 beneath the continental plate Japan sits on.<\/p>\n
Authorities have warned that a major quake in this region, followed by a tsunami, could kill as many as 298,000 people and cause up to US$2 trillion in damage.<\/p>\n
Japan typically experiences around 1,500 earthquakes a year, accounting for roughly 18 per cent of global seismic activity.<\/p>\n
Most are minor, but the country remains highly vulnerable to rare large-scale events.<\/p>\n
The nation still carries the impact of the 2011 magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami, which killed around 18,500 people and triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.<\/p>\n
More recently, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a first-of-its-kind “megaquake” advisory in 2024. It was lifted after a week but triggered panic buying of staples such as rice and widespread cancellations of hotel bookings.<\/p>\n
A second week-long advisory was issued in December 2025 after a magnitude-7.5 quake off northern Japan, which generated tsunami waves of up to 70 centimetres and injured more than 40 people, though no major damage was reported.<\/p>\n
With reporting by AFP<\/p>\n
48m agoMon 20 Apr 2026 at 8:45am<\/p>\n
Full list of tsunami warnings and advisories released<\/p>\n
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(Source: Japan Meteorological Agency)<\/p>\n