Earthquake warning, Japan's booming tourism industry anxious to cool down?
2024-08-15
Currently in the peak season of Japan's tourism industry, not only are overseas tourists flocking, but also a 9-day long holiday has begun in Japan since August 11th. However, on the 8th, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake occurred near the coast of Kyushu Island in Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency immediately issued a warning for a reassessment of the huge earthquake risk, stating that the possibility of a major earthquake in the South China Sea trough in the eastern Pacific Ocean of Japan has increased, and calling on the public to be vigilant and prepared for the next week or so. This makes foreign tourists planning to travel to Japan uneasy. After the earthquake on the 8th, there was an increase in inquiries about ticket and hotel cancellations on social media. So, will the Japan Meteorological Agency's first massive earthquake risk warning issued since 2011 cool down Japan's booming tourism industry? After the earthquake on the 8th, there has been a "rocket like" increase in ticket prices for returning to China from multiple parts of Japan. For example, the ticket price of the low-cost airline Spring Airlines on the route from Osaka to Shanghai is also close to 3000 yuan, while the lowest ticket price for flights from Osaka to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Tokyo to Shanghai is around 4000 yuan. At present, multiple domestic airlines have provided limited responses such as rescheduling and canceling flights to Japan. According to CCTV News, the hotel industry in some areas that may be affected by earthquake warnings has also experienced a wave of cancellations. More than 550 tourists have cancelled their accommodation reservations in Shimoda City on the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture. The famous white sand beach in Shirahama cho, Wakayama Prefecture has been closed, and the fireworks display has also been cancelled; A hotel in the county received a large number of customer calls inquiring about safety, and 350 orders have been cancelled. Some domestic online travel platforms have also responded to the large number of cancellations in the Japanese accommodation industry. Ctrip stated that many travelers have indeed cancelled their bookings for local hotels or inns in Japan recently; The staff related to Fliggy stated, "The earthquake occurred in some parts of Japan and has little to do with Tokyo, Osaka, and other places." Chinese resident Xiao Wang, who lives in Tokyo, Japan, explained to First Financial that the current increase in domestic airfare is mainly due to the small holiday in Japan, which is second only to New Year's Day and New Year. People are either going home to reunite or traveling abroad. According to data from six JR passenger transport companies during long holidays, the number of designated seats booked on the Shinkansen and regular lines has increased by about 1.2 times compared to the previous year. The domestic flight booking situation of airlines in Japan remains the same as last year. The reporter from First Financial consulted several Chinese people in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and other places, all of whom said that there was no rush to buy supplies around them, supermarkets were very rich in goods, and there was not much discussion about the earthquake situation. Recently, extreme high temperatures have caused a shortage of large bottles of drinking water in supermarkets, "said Xiao Wang." Disaster prevention supplies sell well in supermarkets, mainly because foreigners living here (in Japan) buy more. In fact, Japanese people have long been accustomed to earthquakes. "Some Chinese people also said that during the small holiday, people would purchase some supplies in advance because some shops would close during the holiday. Xiao Wang told reporters that compared to earthquake warnings, Japan is actually the first to deal with extreme weather such as typhoons and heat waves. According to the news released by the Japan Meteorological Agency, Typhoon Maria landed in Iwate, Japan, on the morning of the 12th, and rainstorm hit northeastern Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency warning for some areas. This summer, Japan experienced a rare heatwave, with several regions recording extreme temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius and issuing a "heatstroke warning". According to data from the Fire Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, over 12000 people were urgently hospitalized due to heatstroke from July 29th to August 4th, with 21 deaths. Despite the fact that several days have passed since the earthquake on the 8th, the Japan Meteorological Agency has not yet withdrawn the warning for the massive earthquake in the South China Sea trough. On the 12th, officials from the Japan Meteorological Agency stated that they have not yet detected any irregular changes in the Earth's crust. Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, Naoshi Hirata, stated at a press conference on the 8th that "in places where a huge earthquake could occur at any time, the likelihood of a (major earthquake) occurring (now) has increased several times higher than usual. He also emphasized that if considering cases worldwide, the probability of occurrence is about one in a few hundred, and accurate location cannot be predicted. The Japan Meteorological Agency stated, "Although a warning is issued, it does not necessarily mean that an earthquake will occur within a certain period of time." Officials from the Japan Meteorological Agency stated that although there is no need for special shelter, they have requested 707 areas in 29 prefectures - from Tokyo in the east to Okinawa in the south - to check local disaster preparedness, confirm shelters, and provide immediate evacuation for the public in case of an earthquake. Public information shows that the South China Sea Trough is approximately 800 kilometers long, located along the southwest coast of Japan, extending from Shizuoka Prefecture in western Tokyo to the southern end of Kyushu Island. The South China Sea Trough broke in 1707, triggering the second strongest earthquake on record in Japan, second only to the 2011 "3.11" earthquake. Since 1707, major earthquakes have occurred near the South China Sea Trough in 1854 and 1944-1946 respectively. In 1946, an 8-magnitude earthquake triggered a 6.9-meter-high tsunami, resulting in approximately 1330 deaths. According to CCTV News, on August 2nd local time, the Japan Earthquake Investigation Commission (J-SHIS) released for the first time the long-term assessment results of the investigation of active faults in the Sea of Japan between the northern waters of Hyogo Prefecture and the waters of the Uetsu area in Niigata Prefecture. The investigation found that there are 25 active faults or fault zones in the area that are over 20 kilometers long and can trigger earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above on the Richter scale. According to the assessment, the fault zone on the north bank of the Noto Peninsula triggered a 7.6-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in January this year. Due to frequent natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions in Japan, the Japan National Tourism Administration website also has a Chinese version of safety tips to provide emergency response strategies. (New Society)
Edit：NingChangRun Responsible editor：LiaoXin
Source：YICAI
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