日本語で: こんしゅうはなしはえいごで。むずかしだから。

English: The observant followers of the news from Japan may have noticed the prevalence of earthquakes in this country. The Pacific plate moving into the Philippine plate and both of them moving into the Eurasia plate cause about 2000 quakes that can be felt in Japan per year. The bigger quake from last week’s post was caused by the Pacific plate smashing into the Philippine plate and, thanks to its depth (over 500 km), did not cause any tsunami, unlike the Tohoku quake from 2011.

In Japan much attention is spent in preparation for the coming Toukai earthquake. This quake, to occur in a part of the line where the Philippine plate meets the Eurasian plate which lies south west of and near to Tokyo, is predicted to have a magnitude in excess of 8 on the Richter scale. The effects of this quake are predicted to be similar to the Tohoku quake, with many densely populated areas experiencing the highest amount of shaking on the Japanese earthquake scale (7) and coastal areas being flooded by tsunami.

The Japanese meteorological agency monitors all seismic activity:

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/00000000095.html

and provides the information for warnings issued to warning systems and smartphone applications, such as the one kindly provided by the Japan National Tourism Organization:

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/essential/emergency/safety_tips.html