On the heels of a year marked by natural disasters — and with thousands of foreign workers expected to enter the country over the next few years — the Tokyo Metropolitan Government hosted a disaster drill Wednesday in Setagaya Ward to prepare foreign residents for the worst-case scenario.
"Last year, we suffered from a series of major disasters, from earthquakes in northern Osaka and Hokkaido to the heavy rains and typhoons in western Japan," said Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, who made opening remarks at the event. "We are told that the possibility of an earthquake directly hitting Tokyo within the next 30 years is 70 percent. That means, in the future, we will face a major earthquake."
"We have to prepare for the worst," she added.