Japan is living in the shadow of the Megaquake

Due to the volatile nature of Japan’s natural landscape, how can its government successfully prepare for disaster?

A collapsed house in the southern Japanese town of Oosaki, following Thursday’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake off Kyushu. The country’s weather agency issued a warning that the likelihood of the Nankai Trough quake had increased ‘by several times’. Picture: Kyodo News/AP

To live in Japan is to live with the risk of a devastating earthquake at any time.

Usually, however, people tend to view that threat in the abstract. It’s kind of like thinking about death — I know I’ll die someday, but I hope it won’t be today. And so far, at least, I keep getting lucky.