Natural disasters in Japan

Japan is regularly affected by natural disasters, with the country also being in the Ring of Fire. Two out of the five most expensive natural disasters in recent history have occurred in Japan, in 1995 (~6,500 deaths) and 2011 (~20,000 deaths) – the latter of which had also triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The most devastating recorded natural disaster to affect Japan by death toll was the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, which killed ~105,000 and a further ~6,000 due to the Kantō Massacre in its immediate aftermath.

Japan has also been the site of some of the 10 worst natural disasters of the 21st century. Many types of natural disasters occur in Japan such as tsunamis, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, cyclones, and volcanic eruptions, leading to periodic disruptions in economic and social activities. The country has gone through thousands of years of natural disasters,[1] affecting and shaping Japanese culture, economy, development, and social life.

  1. ^ "Significant Earthquake: JAPAN". National Geophysical Data Center, part of the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2010.