Thursday February 23, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

M5.7 quake hits eastern Japan; Fukushima nuclear plant stable

National Jan. 12, 2012 - 03:30PM JST ( 56 )

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56 Comments

-2

Elbuda MexicanoJan. 12, 2012 - 01:54PM JST

And I felt nothing here in Tokyo, but my students all freaked out and jumped under their desks, luckily every thing is still fine.
-1

MaboDofuIsSpicyJan. 12, 2012 - 01:58PM JST

Get Yurekuru. Great app for the iPad and iPhone. Gives you time to hide. RIngs all the time.
-1

ironchefJan. 12, 2012 - 02:01PM JST

definitely felt it here in central Tokyo
-4

ironchefJan. 12, 2012 - 02:04PM JST

also funny that this is a Japan-based site and they give out the magnitude, rather than the shindo.
2

ElvensilvanJan. 12, 2012 - 02:14PM JST

I think I felt that ... or maybe I was just too sleepy that I just imagined the shake.

I hope everyone's safe.
1

yaguraJan. 12, 2012 - 02:37PM JST

ironchefJAN. 12, 2012 - 02:04PM JST also funny that this is a Japan-based site and they give out the magnitude, rather than the shindo.

Most of the stories that appear on this site are taken from other news sources. This one comes from AFP (Agence France-Presse) which is based out of France. Most of the world uses the Richter magnitude scale for earthquakes which probably explains why it is used by AFP.

Moreover, the Shindo scale and the Richter scale measure two different things with respect to earthquakes. If I'm not mistaken, the magnitude of a quake is a measurement of the amount of energy released by the quake while the Shindo scale measures the amount of shaking caused by a quake at a particular area.
0

yaguraJan. 12, 2012 - 02:40PM JST

I did feel it in Akasaka just about 30-40 seconds after I received a warning text on my iPhone. It was a Shindo 2.
1

Salame LazzarisJan. 12, 2012 - 02:50PM JST

I was in the phone with my wife, then my app "NAMAZU ALERT" issue an alert for jishin. I had time enough to tell my wife to protect, also myself, almost 10 seconds later it started.You all should have it. Just amazing.
2

BaibaikinJan. 12, 2012 - 02:55PM JST

Multiple mobile phone quake warning alarms went off in the coffee shop I was in today, which was a little unnerving, but would seem that the Tokyo subway shook more than we did at ground level.

@MaboDofulsSpicy - The Yurekuru application seems to have got its act together since the big one on March 11, when it went off 90 minutes after the fact. It was more a case of 'Yure kita' than 'kuru'.
0

Johannes WeberJan. 12, 2012 - 02:57PM JST

It could be felt in Tsukuba, but it felt like a small one here - at most Shindo 2.
3

SquidBertJan. 12, 2012 - 03:07PM JST

@Yagura, you are completely correct about shindo vs magnitude.

As Shindo will be different for each location, it is difficult to publish in a news paper headline. I guess they could publish the highest value though.

@Johannes You are a walking seismometer, JMA has Tsukuba down as a level 2, it was level 4 in northern Ibaraki though.
-6

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 03:22PM JST

"Oh dear another pre-after-shock! Don't you see the patterns? It's coming closer! We're all gonna die!!"...or so will the "earthquakes follow a pattern" crowd try to make us believe.
0

Darren BrannanJan. 12, 2012 - 03:23PM JST

We had a very rare quake here in Osaka a week ago and Yurukuru was about 2 seconds late.
0

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 03:25PM JST

@MaboDofu Yurekuru isn't very good. Crashes a lot, drains your battery fast, and it when it runs it deserves the nickname it has been given by the Japanese - "Yurekita". Means that once it sounds off, the earthquake's mostly over for a few minutes.

The built-in warnings of Japanese cell phones using the official system are much better. My 4S today alarmed me 3 seconds after I thought "is my screen moving or did I have too much coffee today?"
-1

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 03:27PM JST

@ironchef I am in Chuo-ku (as central as it gets), I had to convince myself that there was anything. If my phone didn't go off, I wouldn't have noticed it. Funny that we're both central and one of us felt it definitely and the other didn't.
-2

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 03:30PM JST

I get the feeling with all these people "recommending" Namazu or Yurekuru that they might be involved with the parties who offer those apps? Or maybe are the developers themselves?

The warning systems built into the Japanese phones (and better foreign phones like the 4S) are a few leagues above those apps. Faster, more reliable, and connected to the official network.
1

theResidentJan. 12, 2012 - 03:51PM JST

HansNFRanz is completely correct, I work on a desk of 30 people, Yurekuru was (once again) WAY behind the automatic warning systems built into Japanese phones. The shaking had almost stopped by the time the iphones kicked in, the other phoned had finished beeping by the time we felt the shake.
-1

theResidentJan. 12, 2012 - 03:53PM JST

..so why anybody has 'thumbed down' HansNFranz is beyond me, unless his suppositions about developers making comments are correct!
1

yaguraJan. 12, 2012 - 03:59PM JST

I have an iPhone4 and I don't remember downloading any of the apps mentioned here. Even so, I got a message and my phone started vibrating/beeping before I felt the quake. Could this be because of some built in feature for iPhones?
3

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 05:03PM JST

@yagura On your phone, go to the preferences and then "Notifications". Scroll all the way down - the last entry in Notifications on my phone is "Quake Alerts" (you might be charged for data unless you have a lot of volume or a flat data rate, and it also uses some battery as it's always-on).

If you don't see that entry in "Notifications", then you definitely have downloaded an App, subscribed to a service which sends you warning text messages, or something similar.
-1

papigiulioJan. 12, 2012 - 05:03PM JST

yagura share the name of the app why dont you? gonna tryout namazu now. Had a japanese app installed but that only showed the earthquake 10 minutes are the actual shake. Not very handy ...
-1

ebisenJan. 12, 2012 - 05:13PM JST

yurekita :)) LOL - I use Namazu Alert for android, and after the author ironed out the odd bugs last year it is very stable and reliable.
-2

ebisenJan. 12, 2012 - 05:14PM JST

hanz, Namazu alert on my phone started it's warning EXACTLY the same time as other Japanese "dumb" phones...
0

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 05:14PM JST

@theResident Well, all these Earthquake warning apps, including the official one that is built into some phone OSes, rely on polling a backend server over the internet. In a cell-phone saturated country like Japan this means those servers get a lot of traffic, and therefore it is critical that they are fast enough, and have a low-latency, high-bandwidth connection to the internet, to handle that traffic. It is quite obvious that the official system, using CMAS, due to financial resources available, has the fastest backend, which means fastest delivery of the warning. If the people behind the Yurekuru app catch up on the backend-side, which I personally doubt, they will also be able to deliver faster.

Still, if they ever catch up, is it of course also a question where they get their data from. I don't know if the Yurekuru backend is connected to the metrological agency who runs the earthquake sensors. The official system is. I believe it is the same system that overlays the warnings on the current television alerts for the affected regions. A pretty cool, advanced system, IMHO.
0

FarmboyJan. 12, 2012 - 05:16PM JST

Pretty lively day. I hope everyone is okay:

16:49 JST 12 Jan 2012 16:45 JST 12 Jan 2012 Fukushima-ken Oki M4.4 2 14:42 JST 12 Jan 2012 14:37 JST 12 Jan 2012 Miyagi-ken Oki M5.4 3 12:31 JST 12 Jan 2012 12:27 JST 12 Jan 2012 Fukushima-ken Oki M3.8 1 12:29 JST 12 Jan 2012 12:20 JST 12 Jan 2012 Fukushima-ken Oki M5.8 4 12:25 JST 12 Jan 2012 12:20 JST 12 Jan 2012 Fukushima-ken Oki M5.8 4 10:43 JST 12 Jan 2012 10:40 JST 12 Jan 2012 Ibaraki-ken Oki M4.8

(Data from JMA)
0

HansNFranzJan. 12, 2012 - 05:17PM JST

@Farmboy a bit hard to read
0

FarmboyJan. 12, 2012 - 05:19PM JST

Sorry, the format didn't hold together. You can delete that if you want. In short, there have been fairly good sized earthquakes all day today in Fukushima, Miyagi, and Ibaraki.
1

FarmboyJan. 12, 2012 - 05:26PM JST

@Farmboy a bit hard to read

Yes, sorry.
0

yaguraJan. 12, 2012 - 05:49PM JST

papigiulioJAN. 12, 2012 - 05:03PM JST yagura share the name of the app why dont you? gonna tryout namazu now. Had a japanese app installed but that only showed the earthquake 10 minutes are the actual shake. Not very handy ...

I am not using an app. My iPhone settings are just as HansNFrans described. I just forgot that I had activated it.

If you have an iPhone4 then go to 'Secchi' then 'Tsuuchi' and then scroll all the way down to 'Kinkyuu Jishin Sokuhou'. Just turn it 'on'. Not sure if they same feature is available on other iPhones or other smart/cell phones.
-2

Samantha Zoe AsoJan. 12, 2012 - 06:06PM JST

Yes, it seems to have been a pretty busy day shaky shaky wise! My alarm went off but it didn't feel that strong. Maybe I've just got used to it. However, when I picked my daughter up from daycare just one train stop along, the staff were all talking about the building swaying!

I kind of had a gut feeling it was going to be a busy day though when I noticed the water swirling in an anti clockwise direction down the sink this morning(^ー゜)
0

アメリフセインJan. 12, 2012 - 06:11PM JST

Didn't sense it at all here.
0

Vernie JefferiesJan. 12, 2012 - 07:05PM JST

I was watching television at the time, and then I got the tv and cellphone warnings. About 10 secs later we got the shakes here near Shinjuku.
1

yaguraJan. 12, 2012 - 07:32PM JST

I am not using an app. My iPhone settings are just as HansNFrans described. I just forgot that I had activated it.

If you have an iPhone4 then go to 'Secchi' then 'Tsuuchi' and then scroll all the way down to 'Kinkyuu Jishin Sokuhou'. Just turn it 'on'. Not sure if they same feature is available on other iPhones or other smart/cell phones.

Sorry, 'Settei' not 'Secchi'.
-1

Rick KisaJan. 12, 2012 - 07:47PM JST

my concern is not on the phone alerts...rather, despite all these thousands of aftershocks that nobody knows when they will end, their strengths and associated nuclear radiation leaks problems, nobody is tabling a bill to parliament for gradual close of all nuclear reactors in Japan! It is like nothing is happening...sort of deja vue..interesting and frightening at same time! The first one on March 11 was enough to make Germany and other nations that are not even prone to earthquakes rethink their nuclear energy plans...and for Japan! oh my God!
1

Darren BrannanJan. 12, 2012 - 08:50PM JST

Well that last quake in Izu coincided with a noticable spike in Cesium in the atmosphere around the disaster zone and in areas in Kanto. Just shows that one moderate quake could prove the lie of 'cold shutdown' and put Japan in a very fragile state. I have noticed that the whole length of Japan has been very shaky since the new yr. A big one in Niigata then that big one in Izu and then shindo 2 quakes in Osaka, the Okinawan islands, and off Hokkaido... As before preceded by quakes in Christchurch. I try not to be superstitious but I do hope everyone has an earthquake kit and contingency plan in place by now. Be safe everyone!
0

Blair HerronJan. 12, 2012 - 08:52PM JST

My concern is not the phone alerts, either. Rather, you'd better check the NEW hazard map in your area in case of possibility of tsunami.

The Kanagawa prefectural government has drastically revised its calculations of tsunami crashing into the city. It now assumes that tsunami as high as 14.4 meters could swamp the city. The prefectural government said a catastrophic tsunami on the scale of one triggered by the Meio Earthquake in 1498 would likely be 12 meters high and inundate areas 2 kilometers inland. Historic landmarks such as the "Great Buddha" statue could be caught in its path.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/quake_tsunami/AJ201112080059

The saitama prefectural government has begun work to include tsunami countermeasures. The experts said a future tsunami could hit Tokyo Bay and travel up the Arakawa river that runs from Tokyo through Saitama Prefecture. The council anticipated a less than one to two meter-high tsunami would hit Tokyo Bay if a Tonankai or Nankai earthquake occurred along the Nankai Trough.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120105006007.htm
-1

Samantha Zoe AsoJan. 12, 2012 - 09:27PM JST

@ Blair- Thanks for that info. I'll check it out. Always good to know.

Darren Brannon. Yes, we most certainly are experiencing quite a few shakes since New Year. So much for a new start. Interesting about the Cesium levels. I worry about a big aftershock rocking that fragile plant over there. Let's hope it calms down again soon. Keep safe everyone!
1

JannettoJan. 12, 2012 - 09:30PM JST

Most of the stories that appear on this site are taken from other news sources. This one comes from AFP (Agence France-Presse) which is based out of France. Most of the world uses the Richter magnitude scale for earthquakes which probably explains why it is used by AFP.

AFP has a Tokyo bureau though.... maybe it's a general journalism thing that when writing in English, the Richter is used? Any idea, mods?
2

Chaz EdJan. 12, 2012 - 09:48PM JST

NO further damage to the damaged nuclear plant! I guess not, since it's already a total disaster and has melted down past the foundation! Continually releasing radiation into the sea! And what about that concrete dome idea? I love how people make shit up! We are all at the mercy of greed and theory! It's a wonder someone didn't think to import glacial ice to cool things down! I mean really! ? What are we thinking?
1

BurakuminDesJan. 12, 2012 - 10:15PM JST

I'm no seismologist, but I'm getting a bit creeped out. These shakers are becoming more and more frequent here, the 7.0 here on NY and now this, and a bunch of smaller ones recently. Cell-phone warning went off again today. God knows when the next big one will be, but I'm gonna get the supplies stocked up ASAP.
0

Samantha Zoe AsoJan. 12, 2012 - 10:31PM JST

I think a lot of people are a bit creeped out. Best to be prepared.
0

usedtobeanyrJan. 12, 2012 - 11:03PM JST

What I can't believe or understand is how quickly TEPCO can issue an all-clear!?

This latest quake was close and shallow, much closer than NY's day. How could just everything be OK, when it wasn't after Jan. 1st's quake which was much further away???
0

Photoman333Jan. 12, 2012 - 11:50PM JST

@ChazEd

Yep - "did not cause any further problems at the power station" is way way different than "the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remained stable". The corium is a long way from stable.
0

globalwatcherJan. 13, 2012 - 12:09AM JST

@Blair

Thank you for the posts.. These are very critical informaton you have provided to us as we do not know how much the government is preparing for the next possible Tsunami affecting the Tokyo Bay where two plates collide... I do not read anything how much Tokyo Municipal Government and Mayor Ishihara are preparing for the next possible Tsunami. It may never hit Tokyo (I hope so), but there is still a possibility.

I took a tour of Tokyo Bay after the earthquake of 3/11, and I found many housings are still being built a inch away from and above water. Not good idea.
1

usedtobeanyrJan. 13, 2012 - 12:33AM JST

The article clearly states : A tsunami was not expected, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, and there were no immediate reports of damage.

Thus knowing the hazard maps for that area are VERY important.

I am very glad no tsunami were generated this time.
-1

nigelboyJan. 13, 2012 - 01:10AM JST

http://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/KAN3/bosai/tsunami/htm/tokai.htm#Jtokyo

Simulation maps.

The probability of Tokyo Bay experiencing a mass tsunami is minimal at best due to the shallow depth and the fact that the area is somewhat closed between the two peninsula which in of it self act as an wall (embankment)

There was an article in May of last year that Tokyo Metropolitan Government set up a team of experts to further study the matter. The report is to be completed by this spring.
0

BurakuminDesJan. 13, 2012 - 01:13AM JST

@ Blair - agree totally. Sadly, the greater populace here do not. They will have completely forgotten about the tsunami in 10 years and a bunch of ocean view developments will be going up around Kesennuma and Ishinomaki. Happenned before - will happen again. I will stick to science like you.
0

globalwatcherJan. 13, 2012 - 01:23AM JST

There was an article in May of last year that Tokyo Metropolitan Government set up a team of experts to further study the matter. The report is to be completed by this spring

@nigelboy, thanks. Please update it and let us know. Hopefully based on the study, Tokyo Govt can start implementing the action plan.
0

gelendestrasseJan. 13, 2012 - 02:29AM JST

I felt nothing here in Tokyo, but my students all freaked out

the longer you're in Japan the more you'll "tune in" to earthquakes. I actually wake up for a magnitude 3 any more. Sort of puts paid to my wife's comment that even an earthquake wouldn't wake me up....

I wonder how much water is going to leak out of Fukushima Dai-Ichi now? Bet we won't hear about that.
0

Samantha Zoe AsoJan. 13, 2012 - 09:15AM JST

@gelendestrasse. We will hear about it.......just about 6 months later!
0

ironchefJan. 13, 2012 - 10:35AM JST

shindo is a more relevant measurement than magnitude. I think people feel the shaking and are affected by it more rather than the actual power of the earthquake. As such, it would be good to include shindo in articles, especially for Japan earthquakes.
0

ironchefJan. 13, 2012 - 10:36AM JST

@ironchef I am in Chuo-ku (as central as it gets), I had to convince myself that there was anything. If my phone didn't go off, I wouldn't have noticed it. Funny that we're both central and one of us felt it definitely and the other didn't.

@hansnfranz and i am in Minato-ku, pretty central Tokyo...helps that i am on a high floor.
0

LH10Jan. 13, 2012 - 10:59AM JST

Damn governments and NWO!!
-1

HansNFranzJan. 13, 2012 - 11:28AM JST

@ironchef I was on the 45th floor...nothing.
1

yaguraJan. 13, 2012 - 11:43AM JST

ironchefJan. 13, 2012 - 10:35AM JST shindo is a more relevant measurement than magnitude. I think people feel the shaking and are affected by it more rather than the actual power of the earthquake. As such, it would be good to include shindo in articles, especially for Japan earthquakes.

Perhaps. But as I stated early, Japan Today seems to get most of its stories from other news services/websites and just posts them "as is", so if "shindo" wasn't included in the original story then they probably just can't add it after the fact.

The writer of the original article might not have used the term simply just because they were not familiar with it. Or maybe they did know the term, but were writing for a much broader audience than those of us living in Japan. Even if the writer is actually based in Japan and "shindo" is more relevant to them/us here in Japan, it is not as well known among most people living in other countries as the term "magnitude" so, therefore, it is not as relevant to those people.

However, perhaps in the future the JT staff could add the "shindo" as either a moderator's remark or editorial comment. It might be too much to list the "shindo" for all of the affected areas but maybe just those places where it was felt the strongest. A link to a website such as the one for the Japan Meteorological Agency could also be provided for people looking for more info.
-1

warnerbroJan. 13, 2012 - 11:37PM JST

NHK announced that the nuclear plants were fine before TEPCO even informed NHK of that. Why do they bother having reporters? Their writers could give us next week's news tomorrow.