Tokyo, Jul 1 (KyodoAPP): The Japanese government said Tuesday it has updated its disaster risk plan in the hope of reducing the estimated death toll from a potential megaquake occurring in the Nankai Trough by around 80 percent from the current estimate of up to 298,000.
The original quake disaster preparedness plan, produced in 2014, also aimed to reduce by 80 percent the number of projected deaths from a massive quake around the trough, which stretches from western to central Japan. But the government has said actions taken since then would only reduce the toll by about 20 percent.
The updated plan by the Central Disaster Management Council emphasized measures to be taken over the next 10 years to accelerate quake preparedness in designated regions such as embankment installments and investment by the central and local governments to strengthen infrastructure resilience.
“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 at a disaster management council meeting.
The government added 16 municipalities across six prefectures to the designated disaster prevention area, which now encompasses 723 municipalities.
The goal of halving the number of buildings potentially destroyed by the quake or by subsequent fires from the current estimate of 235,000 remains unchanged.
The government, which previously reviewed progress at irregular intervals, will also seek expert opinions and hold annual inspections to check whether targeted prevention measures are being implemented.
The government also aims to have all municipalities regularly conduct evacuation drills by fiscal 2030 in areas likely to experience major tsunamis.
The plan also proposes tsunami countermeasures be put in place at petrochemical complexes and urges individuals and the private sector to take precautions such as securing furniture.
“A Nankai Trough earthquake feels more imminent compared to when the previous plan was formed, and may even occur while measures are being implemented,” said Norio Maki, professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute at Kyoto University.
“The government must ramp up support for municipalities,” he added. “While measures for tsunamis such as setting up evacuation towers and embankments have progressed considerably, evacuation awareness may have declined among residents, and there is a need to raise it again.”
The government’s deadliest scenario involves a magnitude 9-class earthquake occurring on a winter night, with the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka projected to see the highest death toll of over 100,000.