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Asahi Shimbun
7 days ago
- Asahi Shimbun
16 Akusekijima islanders return home amid constant quakes
Akusekijima is a small volcanic island off the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture, situated in a region known for frequent seismic activity. (Asahi Shimbun file photo) KAGOSHIMA--Sixteen evacuated residents of Akusekijima island boarded a ferry here on the evening of July 16 to return home despite the continuing earthquakes numbering more than 2,000 in recent weeks. While the seismic activity continues on the island, some evacuees decided to return anyway, explaining, 'We're worried about the island. We want to prepare for the approaching typhoon.' The Tokara island chain has been suffering frequent earthquakes, including a powerful one with a maximum seismic intensity of a lower 6 on the Japanese scale of 7, since June 21 The village of Toshima offered evacuations on a voluntary basis from July 4. Fifty-two residents of Akusekijima island accepted the offer and left the island and sheltered in the city of Kagoshima and other locations. Eighteen residents remained on Akusekijima island as of July 16, before the return of the 16 villagers. The village had set a guideline for allowing evacuees to return home: five consecutive days without an earthquake registering an intensity 4 or greater. However, on July 16, a quake with an intensity 4 was recorded. Regarding the early return of residents ahead of the village's official safety decision, Mayor Genichiro Kubo said, 'Evacuation was not mandatory. We respect the wishes of the island residents.' He also told reporters that some evacuees who wished to return home were saying, 'There hasn't been an earthquake with an intensity of 5 or greater,' and 'Life in evacuation in Kagoshima is also difficult.' Kazunori Arikawa, 73, who runs a guesthouse on Akusekijima island, decided to return home as the number of earthquakes declined. While the earthquakes had once exceeded 100 per day, the number dropped to 40 on July 14 and 31 on July 15. 'I'm worried about the island. I want to prepare for the typhoon," Arikawa said. "I don't have anything to do while staying in Kagoshima.' On the island, residents live in close proximity, take care of essential tasks such as garbage collection and power plant maintenance, and support each other. 'Everyone on the island is like family. I just want to return and see their faces,' Arikawa added. He said he may evacuate again depending on his health.
08-07-2025
More Residents to Evacuate Quake-Hit Remote Island in Japan
News from Japan Society Jul 8, 2025 18:23 (JST) Kagoshima, July 8 (Jiji Press)--Five more evacuees from Akusekijima are scheduled to leave the remote island on Wednesday, amid a series of earthquakes shaking the Tokara chain islands in the village of Toshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, its mayor said Tuesday. Genichiro Kubo, mayor of the village, told a press conference that the third group of evacuees, in their 20s to 70s, will board a village-operated ferry on Wednesday morning and are expected to arrive in the prefectural capital city of Kagoshima that evening. The evacuees will stay at a hotel in the city and other places for an unspecified period. Once this group departs, about 20 islanders are expected to remain on Akusekijima. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Yomiuri Shimbun
More Residents to Evacuate from Japan's Akusejikima Island After Series of Quakes; Tremors Continue Near Area
KAGOSHIMA — More residents of Akusekijima Island are to be evacuated in response to a series of earthquakes off the Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Toshima Village government announced Tuesday. Genichiro Kubo, the mayor of the village, said at a press conference that about five islanders who wish to leave the island will take a ferry scheduled to depart on Wednesday morning to Kagoshima City. It will be third evacuation from Akusekijima. Tremors continued to occur near the islands on Tuesday. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake, measuring 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of seven, hit Akusekijima at about 11 a.m. on the day. This followed five quakes registering 3 on the scale between 5:34 a.m. and 6:16 a.m., according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A total of 1,672 earthquakes registering 1 or stronger on the Japanese scale were recorded from June 21 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
CNA
07-07-2025
- CNA
Dozens leave Japan islands after nearly 1,600 quakes
TOKYO: Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 quakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said Monday (Jul 7). There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a 5.1-magnitude quake that struck overnight, said Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. But the almost non-stop jolts since Jun 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 have evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another island nearby, Kubo told a news conference. The municipality, which comprises seven inhabited and five uninhabited islands, is roughly 11 hours away on a ferry from Kagoshima. Since Jun 21, the area has experienced as of early Monday what seismologists refer to as a swarm of 1,582 quakes. Experts have said they believe an underwater volcano and flows of magma might be the cause. They say they cannot predict how long the tremors will continue. "We cannot foresee what might happen in the future. We cannot see when this will end," mayor Kubo told reporters. A similar period of intense seismic activity in the area occurred in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire". The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 per cent of the world's earthquakes. Some foreign tourists have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake was imminent.
Al Arabiya
07-07-2025
- Al Arabiya
Dozens leave Japan islands after 1,600 earthquakes
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 quakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said Monday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a 5.1-magnitude quake that struck overnight, said Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. But the almost non-stop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 have evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another island nearby, Kubo told a news conference. The municipality, which comprises seven inhabited and five uninhabited islands, is roughly 11 hours away on a ferry from Kagoshima. Since June 21, the area has experienced as of early Monday what seismologists refer to as a swarm of 1,582 quakes. Experts have said they believe an underwater volcano and flows of magma might be the cause. They say they cannot predict how long the tremors will continue. 'We cannot foresee what might happen in the future. We cannot see when this will end,' mayor Kubo told reporters. A similar period of intense seismic activity in the area occurred in September 2023, when 346 earthquakes were recorded, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Japan is one of the world's most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences around 1,500 jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world's earthquakes. Some foreign tourists have held off coming to Japan due to unfounded fears fanned by social media that a major quake was imminent. Causing particular concern was a manga comic reissued in 2021 which predicted a major disaster on July 5, 2025 -- which did not happen.
