Japan earthquake: PM Kishida cancels Asia trip as scientists fear ‘megaquake’ [Video]

TOKYO, Japan –

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida canceled a planned trip to Central Asia on Friday to lead the government’s response after scientists urged people to prepare for a possible “megaquake” off the country’s southern coast.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first ever “megaquake advisory” on Thursday warning of a possible future major earthquake triggered by the underwater Nankai Trough, after a magnitude 7.1 quake shook just off the eastern coast of Kyushu island earlier in the day. The trough, which runs along Japan’s Pacific coast, was the source of past devastating earthquakes.

Seismologists at the agency held an emergency meeting after Thursday’s quake to analyze whether it had affected the nearby trough and reassessed the risk of a major quake. They urged people to observe high caution levels for about a week.

Thursday’s quake injured 16 people, most of them slightly, and caused no major damage. Tsunami advisories were issued …