Japan Fears A Potential ‘Megaquake’ With A Death Toll Of 300,000

A new preparedness plan released on Tuesday called for increased efforts to create embankments, evacuation shelters, and public drills. 

Quakes are exceedingly difficult to predict, but in January, a government panel raised the likelihood of a huge shock in the Nankai Trough off Japan to 75-82 percent over the next 30 years.

In March, the government issued a fresh estimate stating that such a megaquake and subsequent wave may kill 298,000 people and create losses of up to $US2 trillion ($A3 trillion). In 2014, the Central Disaster Management Council produced a preparedness plan outlining a number of steps that were expected to minimize deaths by 80%. 

Japan with its megaquake

Every 100 to 200 years for the last 1,400 years, Japan has experienced a “megaquake” in the Nankai Trough. The most recent occurred in 1946, with Richter Scale magnitudes ranging from 8.1 to 8.4.

In 2011, Japan was also slammed by an undersea megathrust earthquake with a Richter scale value of 9 to 9.1. The 2011 disaster was also Japan’s greatest strongest earthquake on record.

However, when it comes to megaquakes, Japan continues to monitor the Nankai trough. The Nankai Trough is an 800-kilometer undersea trough that runs parallel to Japan’s Pacific coast, where one tectonic plate “subducts” or gradually slips beneath another.

Comic prophecy

Some international visitors have avoided visiting Japan this summer due to erroneous fears on social media that a large earthquake is impending. A manga comic republished in 2021 that prophesied a great disaster on July 5, 2025, has sparked particular anxiety. Greater Bay Airlines, located in Hong Kong, has halted flights to Japan because “demand has rapidly decreased,” a local tourism official told AFP in May.

According to the tourism agency, the number of visitors to Japan from Hong Kong decreased by 11.2% year on year in May. Arrivals from mainland China increased by 44.8 percent, while those from South Korea increased by 11.8 percent. Japan remains very popular among Australians.

“It is necessary for the nation, municipalities, companies, and non-profits to come together and take measures in order to save as many lives as possible,” Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said, according to local media.

With this new updated strategy, Japan wants to work over the next decade to lower the death troll by 80 percent in the event of an earthquake in the Nankai Trough.

Also Read: Is Earthquake Hitting Japan On July 5, 2025? Manga Prediction Creates Social Media Frenzy