Hello friends, on January 1, 2024, when New Year celebrations were taking place all over the world, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Japan. This earthquake was not the only one; several small and large earthquakes were observed shortly afterward. In total, more than 155 earthquakes occurred in just one day. As a result, sea waves rose to nearly 1 meter high, causing them to hit the west coast of Japan.

Japan’s meteorological agency had issued a significant tsunami warning, although this warning was later downgraded, by then, the earthquake had already caused a lot of destruction. Numerous buildings were severely damaged, electricity went out in thousands of homes, and in many places, fires broke out. As of January 5th, approximately 100 people have lost their lives.

More than an earthquake and tsunami

The Japanese Prime Minister states, “This situation is a battle against time. Rescue operations are underway, and efforts are being made to save those trapped.” However, on January 2nd, another incident occurs in the country. A Japan Airlines plane collides with a Coast Guard plane at Tokyo’s airport, and both planes become engulfed in flames. The Coast Guard plane was on a mission to assist people when the collision happened. Meanwhile, the Japan Airlines plane collided with it. Fortunately, all passengers from the Japan Airlines plane are safely evacuated, but tragically, only the pilot survives from the Coast Guard plane, as the other five crew members do not make it.

Two main questions

Two significant questions emerge from this: firstly, why does Japan experience all these earthquakes and tsunamis? And secondly, how does Japan manage to deal with these disasters? Because if this same earthquake had occurred in any other country, there would have been casualties in the thousands.

How Japan considers itself protected from these things, let’s understand it in today’s blog.

This earthquake has been named the ‘Sea of Japan Earthquake 2024’ and the ‘Noto Peninsula Earthquake.’ You must have read about the term ‘peninsula’ in your childhood, referring to land surrounded by water on three sides. The location where the earthquake occurred is 500 km away from Tokyo, Japan’s capital, yet the impact of the earthquake was felt in Tokyo.

Now, our first question, why Japan experiences so many earthquakes, has its answer embedded in the geographical region and map of Japan.

Reason for the earthquake

There are a total of 16 major tectonic plates present worldwide. Tectonic plates constitute the outermost layer of the Earth, forming from the Earth’s crust and the upper part of the mantle. The heat generated in the Earth’s core produces convection currents, causing these tectonic plates to slowly move. Throughout the year, all 16 major tectonic plates continually shift, and when they collide with each other, earthquakes occur. Therefore, countries situated along the boundaries of these tectonic plates experience the highest frequency of earthquakes. Japan, in particular, is uniquely positioned in a region where the boundaries of four tectonic plates meet, making it prone to the highest number of earthquakes.

How they deal

Now, because Japan’s geography is like this, the country has always been referred to as a danger zone in history. However, perhaps for this very reason, Japan continues to make progress in controlling the damage caused by earthquake disasters.

Let’s see how Japan manages such damage. Buildings constructed in Japan have to meet very strict earthquake-proof standards, and there are three main standards for this.

1. The lowest standard is called the Taishine standard. It specifies the minimum thickness required for pillars, walls, and beams in a house to withstand and resist shaking during an earthquake.
2. The second standard is the Seishine standard, recommended for tall buildings. Here, people are advised to install dampers beneath the buildings to absorb the impact of the earthquake shake. Installing dampers means placing large rubber mats under the foundation of the building, which efficiently absorb a significant amount of impact.
3. The most advanced and effective standard is called the Menshine standards. In this, the entire structure of the building is isolated from the ground by incorporating layers of lead, steel, and rubber. This ensures that the building stands independently from the ground, minimizing shaking and enhancing earthquake resistance.

In Tokyo City, there is an iconic tower named Sky Tree, and it also adheres to the Menshine standards. This building is the most earthquake-resistant structure in the entire city. When Japan experienced the highly dangerous Tohoku earthquake in 2011 with a magnitude of 9.6, the Sky Tree building remained completely unaffected. The Tohoku earthquake is considered the most perilous, yet this building withstood it without any damage.