Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has decided to cancel his tour of Central Asian countries, during which he was scheduled to participate in a meeting of Central Asian leaders in Kazakhstan, due to the threat of a powerful earthquake near the Japanese islands. He informed Japanese journalists of this decision.
"The decision has been made to cancel visits to Central Asian countries and Mongolia," the Japanese Prime Minister stated, emphasizing that over the next week, the government's efforts will be focused on monitoring the situation and preparing for a possible major earthquake in the Nankai Trough.
He also noted that the authorities would actively work to prevent the spread of false information about the potential earthquake on the internet.
Fumio Kishida was originally scheduled to tour Central Asian states from August 9 to 12. In Astana, the first summit of the region's heads of state in the "C5+1" format was planned with his participation, where announcements about an economic aid package for the region were expected.
Some media outlets had noted that the Japanese Prime Minister would have proposed initiatives for developing Central Asia, particularly in the field of decarbonization.
Japan intends to support the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which connects Central Asia with Europe through the Caspian Sea.
In recent years, Japanese seismologists have been increasingly concerned about the possibility of an earthquake in the Nankai Trough, located southeast of the central coast of Honshu island. On August 8, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 occurred in the southwest, after which seismologists announced an increased likelihood of tremors in the Nankai Trough.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 9, 2024