Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has canceled his trip to Kazakhstan due to the threat of a powerful earthquake, The Japan News reported. Kishida was scheduled to participate in a Central Asia-Japan summit in Astana.
The prime minister’s decision followed two earthquakes in southwest Japan on August 8, with magnitudes of 7.1 and 6.9, respectively. Japanese authorities immediately issued a tsunami warning after meteorologists forecast a megaquake along the Nankai Trough. According to media reports, a natural disaster of this scale occurs once every 100 to 150 years.
Kishida was also set to visit Uzbekistan and Mongolia, in addition to the meeting with Central Asian leaders in Astana on August 9. Presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have already arrived in the capital city of Kazakhstan.
