The Meteorological Agency of Japan has warned that the possibility of a major earthquake has increased in that country.
The warning was issued after a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Japan on Thursday, prompting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to cancel a trip to central Asia on Friday.
It is “the first such warning for areas around the Nankai Trough,” which stretches from southwestern to central Japan, issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency, according to Tokyo-based Kyodo News.
“In the worst case scenario, a strong earthquake could shake a wide area of Japan – from the Kanto region centered on Tokyo to the southwestern Kyushu region – and high tsunami waves could engulf coastal areas from Kanto to Okinawa,” the agency said.
Several injuries and damage to buildings were reported in both Miyazaki and two neighboring provinces after the earthquake hit the area on Thursday.
On New Year’s Day this year, Japan was hit by a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake that killed 238 people and left at least 19 missing on the Noto Peninsula in central Japan.
Kishida was due to fly to Astana to co-chair the first-ever summit with the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, AA writes.
E.Dz.
