Japan ends 'megaquake' special caution week after finding no immediate risk

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Japan ends 'megaquake' special caution week after finding no immediate risk

2024-08-15 20:47 Last Updated At：20:50

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government Thursday ended a weeklong information campaign urging caution and preparedness for a possible “megaquake” — an earthquake of magnitude 8 strength or higher — striking the Pacific coast. The announcement came after no abnormal seismic activity was detected during the past week.

Still, officials urged people not to let their guards down.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the country’s first-ever “megaquake advisory” on Aug. 8, hours after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off southwestern Japan. That quake happened on the westernmost edge of a disaster-prone undersea trench called the Nankai Trough, and the meteorological agency said the risk of another big one hitting somewhere along the trough was higher than normal.

The government, in response, designated the past week as a period of “special caution” and preparedness in the region along the trough, calling on residents to be prepared to flee immediately.

A Cabinet Office disaster response official, Tsukasa Morikubo, announced the end of the caution period as of Thursday evening, noting that seismologists detected no abnormal seismic activity around the Nankai Trough in the past week.

The end of the special caution period does not mean there is no risk of a megaquake, said Morikubo, urging people to keep up their usual earthquake preparedness. “A next major one can hit anytime, anywhere,” Morikubo said.

The government last week called on more than 700 municipalities in 29 of the 47 Japanese prefectures to review their preparedness and evacuation plans in response to the Aug. 8 advisory.

The advisory led to widespread confusion and fear even in a country where people are used to moderate temblors and affected travel plans during Japan’s mid-August holiday week. Many rushed to stock up on emergency food and goods even in the capital region outside of the at-risk area.

Some coastal towns closed their beaches or canceled annual fireworks, and train operators serving the area have reduced speed.

Disaster management officials at the Cabinet Office said the decision whether to continue voluntary measures taken during the week is up to municipalities, transportation services and other businesses.

There is a 70 to 80% chance of a magnitude 8 or 9 quake associated with the Nankai Trough within the next 30 years, seismologists say, but its location or a timeframe are unknown.

The Nankai Trough, an undersea trench spanning about 800 kilometers (500 miles) along most of the southern half of Japan’s Pacific coast, has repeatedly caused devastating quakes and tsunamis.

Pope lands in economic power Singapore after a joyous visit to impoverished, devout East Timor

2024-09-11 15:37 Last Updated At：15:41

SINGAPORE (AP) — Pope Francis flew to Singapore on Wednesday for the final leg of his trip through Asia, arriving in one of the world’s richest countries from one of its poorest after a record-setting final Mass in East Timor.

After a brief farewell ceremony, Francis, the Vatican delegation and journalists traveling with him flew to Singapore aboard local carrier Aero Dili's only aircraft, an Airbus A320. It landed about three hours later in Singapore, where Francis had no public events scheduled for the rest of the day.

Francis wrapped up his visit to East Timor with a rally Wednesday morning of its young people, who make up the majority of the 1.3 million population. He urged them to work together to build their young country, using the foundations of older generations who formally secured their independence from Indonesia in 2002, to grow in peace, prosperity and reconciliation.

“Go forward with the happiness of youth, but don’t forget one thing,” Francis told them. “You are the heirs of those who persevered in founding this nation. For this, don’t lose your memory, the memory of those who persevered with so much sacrifice to consolidate this nation.”

The 87-year-old pope, who is on the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate, ditched his prepared remarks to speak off the cuff in his native Spanish, as he often does when he's around young people.

The joyous encounter came just hours after around 600,000 people — or nearly half the population — packed a seaside park for Francis’ Mass. It was held on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago, when East Timor was under brutally oppressive Indonesian rule.

Francis came to East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, to encourage it more than two decades after it secured independence as it struggles with poverty and high unemployment.

In his final remarks at the end of the liturgy, Francis warned the Timorese today to beware of the “crocodiles” who come ashore and “want to change your culture, your history.”

It was an apparent reference both to East Timor’s past, as a colonial possession of first Portugal and then Indonesia, but also its current attractiveness to international commercial interests eager to develop its natural gas reserves.

The oil and gas industry is the bedrock of the Timorese economy and the main source of government revenue. Development of the promising offshore Greater Sunrise gas field, shared between Australia and East Timor, has been stalled for more than two decades — mainly over the question of which country the fuel should be piped to.

Timorese officials believe that piping gas into their country would deliver more benefits for their people despite the added logistical challenges. In an interview last week, President Jose Ramos-Horta said any alternative would have to be “a very persuasive proposal.”

Francis, who is from Argentina and is history’s first Latin American pope, has long railed against multinational companies that exploit poor countries for their natural resources for their own benefit without taking care to adequately compensate the local population or care for the environment.

“And don’t go near those crocodiles because they bite, and bite a lot, a lot,” Francis said Tuesday night, using a term in Spanish that means both “to bite” and to accept bribes.

The huge turnout in East Timor was a testament to the devout Catholic faith of its people and their reverence of the church, which strongly backed the Timorese’ fight for independence. Francis praised the Timorese for having not only built up their country from scratch, but reconciled with Indonesia after securing independence in 2002.

One of the Timorese who campaigned for that independence, Fransisco Dionisio Fernandes, was a 15-year-old acolyte at the Dili Mass celebrated by St. John Paul II on the same field as Francis.

He went on to become one of the most vocal pro-independence activists in East Timor, known locally by his nom de guerre Maukura. But he chose the path of nonviolent resistance rather than joining the guerrillas, preaching a message of reconciliation with Indonesia that Francis underscored during his visit.

“What’s past is past, every nation certainly has its dark history, and we cannot erase history,” Fernandes said in an interview. “East Timor has made a great effort to reconcile the wounds of the past and found a way to pursue a process of genuine reconciliation.”

Fernandes, who became a career diplomat, said the focus was now on the future.

“Now is the time for Timorese to fight for the development and people’s welfare. With the principle of mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty, we rebuild together with Indonesia which is destined to be brothers.”

East Timor remains one of the poorest in the world, with around 42% living below the poverty line. It struggles with high levels of unemployment and malnutrition. Nearly two-thirds of the country’s citizens are under 30 years old, making youth job creation a high priority.

From Dili, Francis was flying to Singapore, one of Asia’s economic powerhouses. The city-state’s transformation from a colonial port lacking natural resources into an economic power since its independence from Malaysia in 1965 has long been touted as a success story.

It enjoys one of the highest living standards in the world, and is known for its safety and low crime rate. But it is also one of the most expensive cities to live in and its competitive work environment makes for a stressful, overworked people.

Francis has no official program in Singapore on Wednesday other than a private meeting with his Jesuit confreres.

Niniek Karmini reported from Dili, East Timor. Eileen Ng contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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