The Meteorological Agency introduced a new system Friday for issuing alerts for extreme weather that could become "life-threatening."
The new system applies to powerful typhoons, torrential rain, tsunami, high waves, blizzards and potentially destructive winds.
The system incorporates existing alerts for 3-meter tsunami or higher, and for volcanic eruptions requiring nearby residents to evacuate. The system adds potential early warnings for earthquakes with an expected strength of lower 6 or higher on the Japanese scale to 7.