Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering cancelling his four-day visit to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia, scheduled from Friday to Monday. The decision comes after weather officials flagged a higher than usual risk of a major earthquake. Broadcaster NTV reported the potential cancellation. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Thursday issued a warning about a “relatively higher chance” of another significant earthquake near Japan’s Pacific coast. This warning followed a 7.1 magnitude earthquake off the southwestern island of Kyushu earlier that day.
This heightened earthquake risk follows two powerful earthquakes that struck Japan’s southern coast on August 8. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the first as a 6.9-magnitude quake, followed by a 7.1-magnitude tremor. The seismic activity prompted the JMA to issue a tsunami advisory for several regions in the southwestern Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. This advisory specifically included Miyazaki, Kochi, Ehime, Kagoshima, and Oita prefectures. All flight operations to and from Miyazaki have been suspended until further notice. According to NHK, there have been reports of broken windows at Miyazaki airport, located near the epicenter of the quakes. The Japanese government has also formed a special task force for rescue operations.
The JMA issued a warning on X (formerly Twitter) urging people to avoid the sea and coastline until the warning is lifted. “Tsunamis will strike repeatedly. Please do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted,” the agency stated.
Japan’s frequent earthquakes are a result of its location along the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” the world’s most active earthquake belt. This horseshoe-shaped path around the Pacific Ocean is characterized by active volcanoes and significant seismic activity. About 90 percent of Earth’s earthquakes occur along this region, including the most violent seismic events.
The Ring of Fire is formed by the interaction of multiple tectonic plates. Douglas Given, a geophysicist with the USGS in Pasadena, California, explained, “The Earth’s surface is broken up into about a dozen or so major chunks that are all moving around. Where they all interact at their edges, interesting things happen.” Japan is situated at the junction of four plates: the Pacific plate and the Philippine plate to the east and the North America plate and the Eurasian plate to the west. This unique geological positioning makes Japan highly susceptible to earthquakes.
