Japan has begun preparations for a powerful earthquake

The Japanese government has warned 723 municipalities in 30 prefectures about an 80 percent chance of a devastating earthquake in the Nankai Trench in the next 30 years, The Asahi Shimbun reports. Thus, the Government has updated the disaster management action plan developed in 2014. The forecast itself regarding the natural cataclysm was made back in 2012 and 2013.

By July 2025, 707 municipalities were included in the plan. In addition, the government has now reduced by about 80% the estimated number of possible victims of a potential "mega-earthquake." Officials called the number in March: about 298 thousand people.

Experts predict tremors with an intensity of less than six points or stronger and a tsunami three meters high or higher in several regions of the country — from Ibaraki to Okinawa.

The central government will ask municipal officials to develop special plans to prevent natural disasters. For example, to improve the seismic resistance of the infrastructure. Municipalities will be designated as "disaster preparedness assistance zones," the publication said.

The Japanese government warned that a "mega-earthquake" of magnitude 8-9 could occur in the Nankai Trench at the end of March, correcting previous data. At the same time, in March, the government clarified that a possible "mega-earthquake" threatens Japan with losses of up to $ 1.81 trillion.

The Nankai Trench is an 800—kilometer underwater depression running from Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, to the southern tip of Kyushu Island.