Risk of ‘mega-earthquake’ in Japan prompts thousands of tourists to cancel hotel stays

The occurrence of a possible “megaseism” in Japan has caused thousands of cancellations of hotel reservations in areas deemed to be at high risk, penalizing a key period for the tourism sector, professionals in the sector announced on Monday August 12.

In western Kochi – among the areas that could be hardest hit – at least 9,400 people have canceled hotel reservations since the warning, a local hotel association said. The cancellations from August 9 to 18 represent a loss of about 140 million yen (about 868,500 euros), said Susumu Nishitani, an industry representative.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a warning on Thursday after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake injured 15 people in the south of the country. “The probability of another powerful earthquake is higher than normal, but this does not indicate that an earthquake will occur with certainty”according to the agency.

The JMA warning concerns the “subduction zone” of the Nankai Trench, located between two tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean, where powerful earthquakes, measuring eight or nine in magnitude, have occurred in the past, every century or two. The warning is to be lifted next Thursday if no abnormal seismic activity is detected, local media said.