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Japan Earthquakes
Ten percent of the world's active volcanos--forty in
the early
1990s (another 148 were dormant)--are found in Japan,
which lies in
a zone of extreme crustal instability. As many as 1,500
earthquakes
are recorded yearly, and magnitudes of four to six on the
Richter
scale are not uncommon. Minor tremors occur almost daily
in one
part of the country or another, causing slight shaking of
buildings. Major earthquakes occur infrequently; the most
famous in
the twentieth century was the great Kanto earthquake of
1923, in
which 130,000 people died. Undersea earthquakes also
expose the
Japanese coastline to danger from tsunami, tidal wave.
Japan has become a world leader in research on causes
and
prediction of earthquakes. The development of advanced
technology
has permitted the construction of skyscrapers even in
earthquakeprone areas. Extensive civil defense efforts focus on
training in
protection against earthquakes, in particular against
accompanying
fire, which represents the greatest danger.
Data as of January 1994
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