Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called off his planned diplomatic visit to Central Asia following an unprecedented “megaquake” alert issued for Japan’s southern coast.
Authorities have urged the public to remain calm and avoid panic buying or stockpiling essential items and disaster supplies in response to the warning.
This advisory comes on the heels of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern coast of Kyushu island on Thursday. The Japan Meteorological Agency, in a first, issued a “megaquake advisory” due to concerns about a potential major seismic event originating from the Nankai Trough, an underwater fault line.