Fears of Earthquakes Increase in Japan Due to Active Volcano

Fears of Earthquakes Increase in Japan Due to Active Volcano. September. 02, 2004 21:59. by Won-Jae Park parkwj@donga.com.

A recent volcanic eruption in Japan is increasing fears of potential earthquakes.

On September 1 at approximately 8:02 p.m., an active volcano was monitoring on Mt. Asama (2,568 meters), situated in the borders of Nagano and Gunma in central Japan.

Rocks flew from the tip of the mountain, landing midway up the hill, while volcanic ash spread as far as 200 km. Also, 300 volcanic earthquakes occurred near the mountain.

Although there were no casualties, 50 residents and tourists were immediately evacuated while nearby elementary and middle schools were closed.

The Japanese Meteorological Agency raised the level of volcano activity of Mt. Asama from a “2” (increasing volcanic activity) to a “3” (middle and small sized eruptions) and immediately called for emergency observations of the mountain.

After Mt. Asama erupted in 1783 killing 1,100, it has restarted its volcanic activity in the 1930’s and has been closely examined by geologists ever since.

The Meteorological Agency announced, “The scale of the eruption was the largest recorded ever since it erupted 21 years ago in April 1983. For now, the volcanic activity seems to have suspended.” Experts also warned, “There are countless volcanoes scattered throughout Japan. We must not forget that any of these volcanoes have the potential to erupt,” and asked the government for increased awareness by expanding its policies to monitor earthquakes.

Japan currently has 80 active volcanoes that either have erupted during the past 2,000 years or are currently secreting volcanic gases.

On the other hand, the Earthquake Research Committee, a Japanese government affiliated organization, predicted in a recent report that there is a 90 percent chance that a large earthquake will occur near Tokyo.

The committee also announced, “The possibility of an earthquake with a 7.0 level on the Richter scale to occur in the Tokyo area within 10 years is relatively low at 30 percent. However, in 30 years, the possibility increases to 70 percent and in 50 years, 90 percent.”