With the government projecting a 70% chance of a massive earthquake directly hitting the Tokyo metropolitan area within the next 30 years, the current over-concentration of people and functions in the capital has raised the risk of the effects spilling over to other areas.
On Sept. 1, 1923, the Tokyo area was rocked by a huge quake. The Great Kanto Earthquake caused turmoil for the Japanese economy, eventually leading to a financial crisis.
One hundred years later, the significance of Tokyo's role as the country's political and economic nerve center and as the center of population has increased.