Japan lifts ‘megaquake’ warning after a week

The Japan Meteorological Agency said, as of Wednesday, it had detected no seismic activity indicating any concerning changes in the presumed area where the megaquake could originate, Kyodo news agency reported.

While last week’s warning has been lifted, the risk of a major earthquake is still present, disaster management minister Yoshifumi Matsumura said.

He said no abnormalities had been detected in “seismic activity and crustal deformation” so the call for increased preparedness was lifted at 17:00 local time (09:00 BST).

“But it doesn’t mean the risk (of a major earthquake) has been eliminated,” he told reporters.

“We have been asking for special precautions, such as sleeping while being prepared to evacuate immediately. But we will no longer ask for these steps, and the people of Japan are free to go back to normal lifestyles,” he added.

Last week’s warning came hours after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the southern island of Kyushu.

Experts were put on heightened alert because of where the epicentre sat – at the edge of the Nankai Trough, an area of seismic activity which stretches along Japan’s Pacific coast.

The plate boundary sits between Suruga Bay in central Japan, and the Hyuganada Sea in Kyushu to the south.