Almost two million people throughout the country took part in disaster-preparedness drills based on various earthquake scenarios on Sunday.
Drills included those premised on a massive earthquake hitting the Tokai region of central Japan and another in the southern Kanto region.
The drills were the first conducted on a large scale since the Central Disaster Prevention Council, chaired by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, expanded its scope in April. Eight prefectures comprising 263 municipalities were required to take part in the special Tokai quake-related precautions.