MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By YOSUKE AKAI – “Saying Japan’s very survival is at stake, two advisory panels urged the government to take immediate action–including finding an alternative capital–to prepare for an earthquake that could devastate the Tokyo area.

The working groups are discussing measures to deal with massive quakes that could be triggered by movement along the Nankai Trough as well as one directly under the capital.

In an unusual move, the groups called on the government to pass legislation for the quake-preparedness measures even before estimating the number of fatalities and damage from such temblors.

‘There is a need for the entire society to deal with the two quakes that are expected to cause extensive damage,’ according to interim reports released on July 19 by the two working groups, respectively.

Passage of special measures laws would allow a wide area covered by the studies to take effective measures to deal with the possibility of the huge earthquakes.

The Nankai Trough extends from Suruga Bay near Shizuoka Prefecture to off the coast of Kyushu in southern Japan.

Special measures laws were passed in 1978 to deal with a possible Tokai quake and in 2002 to prepare for Tonankai and Nankai quakes. But there is no law for a unified response to a Nankai Trough quake with an expected magnitude over 9.0.

One estimate for possible damage from a Nankai Trough quake was 400,000 fatalities.

The two working groups have yet to come up with their own damage estimates. But their recommendation for swift passage of legislation underscores their sense of urgency from not being able to pinpoint when such a destructive quake might hit.” Read more.

Flashback: Japan: Quake Researchers Warn of Tokyo’s ‘Big One’, ‘We Must Prepare for the Earthquake That Will Happen’ – “A year on from one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history, Japanese scientists are warning anew that Tokyo could soon be hit by a quake that will kill thousands and cause untold damage. Greater Tokyo, home to 35 million tightly packed people, has seen a three-fold increase in tectonic activity since the magnitude 9.0 undersea quake that unleashed a killer tsunami last March. Every day, an average of nearly 1.5 quakes are recorded in and around the city, one of the most populated places on earth.” Read more.