The government held an annual disaster drill Tuesday based on a scenario in which a massive earthquake originating in the Nankai Trough in the Pacific had rocked wide areas, however fewer officials took part amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Regional disaster drills were also held, many likewise scaled back, although some local governments canceled the events this year to prevent the spread of the virus.

The nationwide exercises are held every Sept. 1, or Disaster Prevention Day, which marks the anniversary of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake that devastated Tokyo and its vicinity in 1923.