Japan earthquake: Why is Japan prone to earthquakes and tsunami?

The New Year did not prove to be very favorable for western Japan, as a strong earthquake struck the region. The earthquake was strong enough to kill dozens of people in Japan. Additionally, after the strong earthquake, fears lingered around the possibility of tsunamis, landslides, and massive aftershocks.

Earthquakes are a common calamity in Japan. However, while the country has accepted this natural fate, why exactly are earthquakes so common in Japan?

Let's understand.

Why do earthquakes and tsunamis occur in Japan so often?

Japan is a country that has often experienced massive earthquakes. For instance, a strong earthquake hit the country in March 2011, creating havoc with its massive intensity of 9.0 magnitude, along with a tsunami and a massive nuclear meltdown. The meltdown results in a great nuclear disaster. Why do earthquakes of such high magnitude happen in Japan?

Scientifically speaking, earthquakes take place in cases when two tectonic plates under the land surface aggressively hit each other, leading to one slipping under the other. This releases an abrupt energy burst.

Japan is a country that is geographically situated on the top of four major tectonic plates. This very fact makes the country prone to experience disturbing tectonic activity and earthquakes.

A retired geophysics professor at the University of Arizona and the University of Portland Robert Butler expressed that the more plates there are under a region, or, more precisely, the more plate boundaries there are adjacent to each other, the more the chances of interaction between these plates, thereby increasing the chances of earthquakes.

An International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering seismologist, Saeko Kita, expressed that Japan and the nearby areas actually account for over 18% of earthquakes occurring all across the globe, and these active tectonics are to be blamed. 

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Earthquakes are not new to Japan. Over 1,500 earthquakes can be experienced by the people of Japan every year. Additionally, every five minutes, some form of seismic activity can be recorded in the country.

There exists a special zone shaped in the form of a horseshow, called the "Ring of Fire" along the Pacific Ocean. Now, this zone has over 400 active volcanoes. The zone begins from the east coast of Australia and stretches up to eastern Russia. It spans along the western coast of Chile from the western coast of North America.

The Ring of Fire is actually a geographically active region. In this region, calamities such as tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquakes are frequent. Statistically speaking, a majority of tsunamis and earthquakes in the world, over 80 percent to be precise, belong in this region. This has been said by the International Tsunami Information Center and the U.S. Geological Survey. This region of the Ring of Fire runs through Japan, making it a tsunami and earthquake-prone region.

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