The strongest quake felt in Tokyo in 10 years has brought back memories of the Great East Japan Earthquake and reignited concerns over the seismic risk in the world's most populous metropolitan area.
Over the years, a government panel has compiled various scenarios for future earthquakes in Japan, including the possibility of a magnitude 7 quake directly under the capital. But the Meteorological Agency was quick to dispel speculation that Thursday's tremor — a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that shook Tokyo late that night — could be a foreshock for a larger quake.
“At this time, we do not believe there is a connection between yesterday’s tremor and the earthquake predicted to occur under Tokyo some time in the future,” agency official Shinya Tsukada said during a news conference early Friday.