Japan updates 'megaquake' preparedness plan

Tokyo: The Japanese government said that much more needs to be done to prepare for a possible megaquake to reduce the feared death toll of up to 300...

Tokyo: The Japanese government said that much more needs to be done to prepare for a possible "megaquake" to reduce the feared death toll of up to 300,000 people.

Quakes are extremely hard to predict, but in January a government panel marginally increased the probability of a major jolt in the Nankai Trough off Japan in the next 30 years to 75-82 percent.

The government then released a new estimate in March saying that such a megaquake and subsequent tsunami could cause as many as 298,000 deaths and damages of up to $2 trillion.

In 2014 the Central Disaster Management Council issued a preparedness plan recommending a series of measures that, it was hoped, would reduce deaths by 80 percent.

But the government has said that so far the steps taken would only cut the toll by 20 percent, Kyodo news agency reported, and an updated preparedness plan was issued on Tuesday.