Japan commemorates 1995 earthquake, prepares for future quakes

People in Japan commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which claimed over 6,400 lives.

On Friday, at a park in Kobe, the capital of Hyogo Prefecture, residents observed a moment of silence at 5:46 am, the exact time the earthquake occurred. The magnitude 7.3 quake struck on Jan 17, 1995, causing widespread devastation in Kobe and the surrounding areas.

Zhang Shuzhou, vice-chairman of the Kobe-based International Music Association and honorary principal of Kobe Chinese School, worked at a food trading company in Kobe at the beginning of 1995.

He had previously lived in a first-floor room of a three-story wooden building, a modest and inexpensive accommodation with no sunlight. Recognizing that such a place was unsuitable for raising children, he and his wife moved to a reinforced concrete house with better natural light. Less than half a year after settling into their new home, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake devastated Hyogo Prefecture.

"At that time, my wife was three months pregnant. The earthquake occurred at 5:46 in the morning. I suddenly woke up and pulled my wife close to me to protect her. The house shook up and down, left and right for quite a long time," Zhang said.

After the earthquake stopped, they went to a park nearby for shelter and later contacted his brother, who was studying at the Hyogo University of Teacher Education and stayed at a dormitory there for over a month.

"The house I used to live in collapsed completely on the first and second floors, leaving only the third floor," Zhang said. "It was because we wanted a child that we moved, and as a result, we survived the earthquake. After my son was born, I named him Xing, or stars in the sky. When it is combined with the Chinese word for 'save', it means 'savior'."

As time passed, over 60 percent of respondents in an NHK survey who experienced the quake believe that its memories and lessons are fading. The government has urged citizens to maintain daily preparedness for temblors.

The Japanese government's earthquake investigation panel announced on Wednesday that it has raised the probability of a massive Nankai Trough earthquake, with a magnitude of 8 to 9, occurring within the next 30 years, to approximately 80 percent.

This annual recalculation, conducted every January, reflects the passage of time. From 2018 to 2024, the probability was estimated at 70 to 80 percent.

Naoshi Hirata, the panel's chairman and professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, emphasized the importance of ongoing preparedness, stressing that the earthquake could occur at any time.

The likelihood of earthquakes along other areas, such as the Japan Trench and Kuril Trench, has also risen. Hirata noted that since a major quake struck the Noto Peninsula on Jan 1, 2024, M6.0-level earthquakes have occurred repeatedly in Japan. He cautioned that seismic activity is expected to remain active for some time, with the potential for occasional large earthquakes to further intensify the situation.

At around 9:19 pm on Monday, a magnitude-6.6 earthquake occurred off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, with a maximum intensity of lower 5 on the Japanese seismic scale of 0 to 7. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the epicenter was at a depth of 36 kilometers under the Hyuganada Sea.

jiangxueqing@chinadaily.com.cn