For the first time, Japan has issued a warning of an increased risk of a “mega-earthquake” to strike in the near future.

The alert was issued Thursday night (local time), urging citizens to be alert but not to evacuate.

The warning also notes that a major earthquake is not imminent, but that the likelihood is higher than usual.

The warning was issued a few hours later after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that occurred off the southern island of Kyushu, which did not cause significant damage.

However, experts were put on heightened alert because of its focus earthquakeat the edge of the Nankai Trough, an area of ​​intense seismic activity that runs along the Pacific coast, where the tectonic plates meet.

Previous earthquakes in the same spot have left thousands dead. Such mega-quakes are recorded once every 90 to 200 years.

The last occurred in 1946.

Experts say there is a 70% to 80% chance of a magnitude 8 or 9 earthquake hitting somewhere along the coastline in the next 30 years, according to Kyodo news agency.

In the worst-case scenario, more than 200,000 people could die from the earthquake and the possible tsunami that will follow.

However, at a press conference on Thursday, a Japan Meteorological Agency official stressed that while “there is a relatively higher chance of a large earthquake compared to normal times”, he did not say it would definitely happen “in a certain period of time”.

The warning will be valid for one week.

The Japanese Prime Minister canceled a trip abroad

The prime minister of Japan Fumio Kishida announced today that he has canceled a planned trip to central Asia due to the mega-earthquake warning.

“As prime minister I have top responsibility for crisis management and I have decided to stay in Japan for at least one week,” Kishida told reporters.

The head of the Japanese government was due to travel to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Mongolia to attend a summit.

Japan sits at the crossroads of tectonic plates along the Pacific ‘belt of fire’ and is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.

The archipelago, home to about 125 million people, experiences about 1,500 earthquakes a year, most of them minor.

Even the most powerful earthquakes generally cause little damage, largely thanks to the implementation of strict earthquake-proof building regulations and public awareness of protection measures.