Japan Ends Megaquake Advisory on Nankai Trough Disasters

 Stone lanterns fall at a shrine following a strong earthquake in Nichinan, Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan, on Aug. 9, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)
Stone lanterns fall at a shrine following a strong earthquake in Nichinan, Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan, on Aug. 9, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)
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Japan Ends Megaquake Advisory on Nankai Trough Disasters

 Stone lanterns fall at a shrine following a strong earthquake in Nichinan, Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan, on Aug. 9, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)
Stone lanterns fall at a shrine following a strong earthquake in Nichinan, Miyazaki prefecture, southern Japan, on Aug. 9, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan on Thursday ended its call for higher-than-usual risks of a major earthquake, one week after a strong tremor on the edge of the Nankai Trough seabed zone caused the government to issue its first-ever megaquake advisory.

Citizens can now return to normal life as no abnormalities were observed in the seismic activity of the Nankai Trough located along Japan's Pacific coast in the past week, said Yoshifumi Matsumura, the state minister for disaster management.

A Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) expert panel on Aug. 8 released an advisory that there was a "relatively higher chance" of a Nankai Trough megaquake as powerful as magnitude 9, after a magnitude-7.1 quake hit the country's southwest.

While the advisory was not a definitive prediction, the government asked residents of a wide range of western and central regions to review evacuation procedures in case of severe earthquake and tsunami disasters.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida cancelled a diplomatic tour to Central Asia and Mongolia over the weekend to prioritize disaster management.

On Aug. 9, a magnitude-5.3 earthquake hit eastern Japan near Tokyo, but its epicenter was located outside of the Nankai Trough zone where the JMA signaled the chance of a megaquake, and the damage was small as only three mild injuries were reported.

Central Japan Railway ended its week-long precaution of reducing the speed of trains running near coastal areas, although the risk of another natural disaster, approaching Typhoon Ampil, forced the company to cancel high-speed trains connecting Tokyo and Nagoya on Friday.

Japan has predicted a 70%-80% chance of a Nankai Trough megaquake occurring in the next 30 years.

The government's worst-case scenario has estimated that a Nankai Trough megaquake and subsequent tsunami disaster could kill 323,000 people, destroy 2.38 million buildings and cause 220 trillion yen ($1.50 trillion) of economic damage.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. More than 15,000 people were killed in a magnitude 9 quake in 2011 that triggered a devastating tsunami and the triple reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant in northeast Japan.



Masked Rioters Attack Highway in Central France

Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
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Masked Rioters Attack Highway in Central France

Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
Police officers pass a boarded up high street shop on the Champs Elysees ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain tonight, and Bastille Day celebrations tomorrow, in Paris, France, July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

Dozens of masked assailants wielding metal bars and Molotov cocktails attacked cars on a highway and clashed with police Saturday in the city of Limoges in central France, officials said.

The overnight clashes left 10 police wounded, according to authorities, who said they suspect a gang turf war.

The unrest came in the middle of France's summer tourism season.

The armed attackers descended on the RN141 highway and tried to block it during a battle with police, according to officials.

"There were between 100 and 150 masked individuals, armed with Molotov cocktails, fireworks, stones, iron bars and baseball bats," local police union leader Laurent Nadeau told AFP.

Police responded with tear gas and crowd-control munitions.

Mayor Emile Roger Lombertie called the rioters an "urban guerrilla group".

"They're organized, structured, there's a plan, weapons," he said.

"This was not a spontaneous protest to complain about something. No pretext, nothing. It's about destroying things and showing the territory belongs to you," Lombertie added.

Prosecutors said vehicles were attacked but there were no immediate reports of wounded drivers.

Unrest had erupted nearby, in Val de l'Aurence, on the night of July 14, France's national day.

Lombertie said this "very poor neighborhood, with young people from immigrant backgrounds" had become a "lawless zone".

France's interior ministry announced on Saturday plans to deploy a special security force to the city.