Japan Govt Conducts Drill for Japan, Chishima Trench Quakes

Tokyo, Sept. 1 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government conducted a disaster drill Tuesday under the scenario that a major earthquake had struck along the Japan and Chishima trenches off the Pacific coast from the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido to the Tohoku northeastern region.

In the drill, an emergency response headquarters, headed by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, was set up at the prime minister's office. The government received online reports on the situation in the affected areas from Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki, Aomori Governor Soichiro Miyashita and others.

The government holds an annual disaster response drill on Disaster Prevention Day, which falls on Tuesday this year.

This year's drill assumed that an 8.3-magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Tokachi in Hokkaido at around 7 a.m., registering 7, the highest level on Japan's seismic intensity scale, in the eastern part of the Hidaka region of the prefecture.

At the emergency response headquarters meeting, Suzuki said, "As we anticipate a large number of evacuees, we ask for the prompt provision of emergency relief supplies."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]