The Japanese government has warned of the possibility of more powerful earthquakes in the southwestern sea of the country's islands after a 5.4-magnitude richter earthquake occurred in the sea off the Kagoshima prefecture in southwestern Japan on July 5.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake occurred near the Tokara Islands at around 6:30 a.m. on July 5 at a depth of 19km but there was no risk of a Tsunami.
On Akusekijima Island, the earthquake was recorded at more than 5 on Japan's earthquake intensity scale of 0 to 7.
Earthquake activity has increased significantly around the Tokara island chain in the past two weeks. More than 1,000 notable earthquakes have been recorded.
A 5.5-magnitude richter also hit the same area on July 3. Officials said people should be vigilant and the shaking could continue.
On July 4, authorities evacuated some residents from remote islands near the center of a strong 5.5-magnitude richter earthquake off the southernmost tip of Kyushu.
More than 1,000 earthquakes on the islands of Kagoshima province in the past 2 weeks have sparked rumors originating from a comic by artist Ryo Tatsuki predicting that a major earthquake and Tsunami disaster will occur in Japan from July 5-7.
"With our current scientific knowledge, it is difficult to accurately predict the time, location or scale of an earthquake," said Ayataka Ebita, director of the earthquake and Tsunami monitoring division of the Japan Meteorological Agency, after a 5.4-magnitude richterquake shook the area once again on July 5.
"We ask people to rely on scientific evidence," Ebita said at a press conference.
The comic book, which some people predict will be a catastrophic event on July 5, has caused some tourists to cancel their tours to Japan. According to the latest data, the number of visitors to Hong Kong (China), where rumors are widespread, decreased by 11% in May compared to the same period last year.
However, this year, Japan has set a record for the number of visitors, with the highest record for the month in April at 3.9 million visitors.
Ryo Tatsuki, the artist behind the comic book "The Future I saw", first published in 1999 and reprinted in 2021, said she "is not a fortune-telling author" in a statement from her publishing agency.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the regions with the strongest seismic activity in the world. This is where it accounts for about a fifth of all earthquakes with an intensity of 6 degrees richter or more in the world.
