Study warns of powerful Tokyo earthquake in next four years

The Tokyo region of Japan has a 70% chance of being hit by a powerful earthquake within four years, a new study has warned.

University of Tokyo seismologists based their estimate on an increase in earthquake activity in the Tokyo region since last year’s March 11 disaster, when a magnitude-9 quake and subsequent tsunami about 230km north-east of the capital left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing.