Japan's PM Fumio Kishida open to change law to prevent earthquake casualties

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday that the country's legislation can be changed if necessary to ensure public safety, after disaster experts warned of a massive death toll in the event of a strong earthquake hitting the country's north and northeast.

Earlier in the day, the Japanese government's Central Disaster Management Council said that a tsunami sparked by a magnitude 9.1-9.3 quake might kill up to 1,99,000 people, and in winter, the death toll might increase by about 42,000, who would die from hypothermia even if they managed to survive the tsunami. However, if the authorities begin evacuation within 10 minutes after tremors, the number of those killed might decrease by 80 per cent, the experts concluded.

"Ensuring the safety of people and their property is the most important task for the authorities. If something is needed to reach this goal, we are ready to provide it, even if the legislation has to be amended. I am going to check one more time everything needed for that and what has to be done," Kishida told a press conference when asked to comment on the forecast.

Japan is located in an active seismic zone, dubbed the Ring of Fire, and regularly suffers from powerful earthquakes. In March 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake hit the northeast coast of Japan and was followed by a tsunami. The calamity claimed over 22,000 lives, the vast majority of whom were killed by the tsunami.

(ANI/Sputnik)