Japan is a relatively safe, stable and peaceful country with a stable political and public situation. As no country is 100% perfect, Japan has its own problems, but it is still one of the easiest countries to live in.
Even in such a Japan, there is one risk over which there is no control.
That is natural disasters.
Each country in the world has its own natural disasters to a greater or lesser extent, but the country of Japan has an all-star line-up of natural disasters – typhoons, torrential rains, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis – and they occur quite often.
Perhaps due to global climate change, new face “tornadoes” have been added to the list in recent years. We’re not even recruiting…
(ToT)
Large, destructive dust storms and tornadoes, which occasionally occur in countries on continents, are not common in Japan.
However, as far as earthquakes are concerned, they occur nearly 2000 times a year, including minor ones. Those of intensity 4 or higher occur 10-20 times a year, and large earthquakes of intensity 7 or higher occur once every 10 years.
Japan is said to be in this situation because the country itself is situated on the subduction zone of the Pacific Ocean tectonic plate.
Major earthquakes, which sometimes cause massive disasters and many deaths, are a real nuisance, but they are also proof that the earth itself is alive and cannot be stopped.
Crustal activity is also closely related to volcanic veins and is a factor in the development of Japan’s hot spring culture, which is also a ‘hot spring powerhouse’. Japan, crustal activity and hot springs have had an inseparable history that spans tens of thousands of years.
Giants called ‘Daidarabotchi’ occasionally appear in ancient Japanese folklore.
Many of the stories are about how they moved mountains overnight or created large lakes, which may represent ancient tectonic movements.
There are also folk tales related to the sea, such as “One night a part of the sea surface began to glow, and the next day a large plume of smoke rose up”. This is probably folklore related to undersea volcanoes.
There are also folk tales connected with tsunamis in many parts of the country.
Right. Major earthquakes, especially those associated with large-scale movements of submarine tectonic plates, sometimes trigger huge tsunamis as well. This is one of the biggest and worst earthquake disasters. (One of the largest earthquakes and tsunamis occurred in the Tohoku region of Japan at 14:46 on 11 March 2011, killing more than 22,000 people.)
I wrote about huge tsunamis in connection with major earthquakes, but when a major earthquake occurs far offshore, on the ocean floor in the middle of the ocean, no one knows that an earthquake has occurred. By the time you realise it, there is a huge tsunami coming in to sweep everything away.
If you’re on the beach and the tide unexpectedly recedes at a furious rate, it’s most likely an omen that a major tsunami is about to hit. Drop everything and concentrate on escaping. Aim for as high a place as possible.
In a few tens of seconds~minutes, hell may reveal itself.
Most southwestern tip of Japan. The Miyako Islands are located much further south than Okinawa. The rock is located on Shimoji Island in the archipelago.
The rock sits in a corner of the beach near Shimojishima Airport and is 12 m high and 60 m in circumference. It is estimated to weigh several thousand tonnes, some say as much as 20 000 tonnes.
The rock, called locally as “Band Stone / Obi-Iwa”, was originally on the seabed and was pushed up onto the beach of Shimoji Island by the Yaeyama Earthquake of 1771 and the resulting tsunami. Rock masses carried to the surface by tsunamis are found in seaside towns all over the world, but this tsunami rock is said to be one of the largest in the world.
The Yaeyama earthquake had a magnitude of 7.4-8.7, but the shaking was not as severe. However, the tsunami reached 30 metres and swept away most of the island’s above-ground area. And it did so three times…
Approximately 11,000 people were killed. This was reportedly one third of the island’s inhabitants…
The Band Stone has since become an object of worship. Today, a folklore monument has been erected in front of the rock and serves as a tourist attraction.
Natural disasters cannot be stopped by human power. They cannot even be predicted. The best you can do is to check evacuation routes and prepare a stockpile of supplies in the event of a disaster.
On the contrary, human actions are partly responsible for creating new natural disasters.
It is impossible to reduce the impact on nature to zero as long as humans live and work, but we must try to reduce that impact as much as possible.
Clean energy is being developed and cars are being powered by motors, which may be a good thing, but I feel that it is also necessary to review the social structure that relies on electricity in the first place.
There is no way that modern people, accustomed to convenience, can go back to the way they lived 100 years ago, but I believe that convenience and economy are not the only factors that make people happy.
I may not be very convincing when I write this, as I work on a computer or tablet and use a server to publish my site. (^_^;)
In short, I think the most important thing, both for natural disasters and for the future prospects, is to be mindful on a daily basis. People do not live by their own strength, but are kept alive by nature and live together in society…
Now today, of course, it’s a heavy subject. I am sorry.
Japan in 2024 got off to a gloomy start on 1 January, also known as ‘Gantan / 元旦’, when a major earthquake hit Ishikawa Prefecture, so I wrote this at the end of the year with that in mind. I hope to add more fun articles next year.
Please visit INABANA.jp in 2025!
Thank you, dear visitor.
INABANA.jp / ROCKZOU