Evacuees from the Tokara Islands, hit by a series of earthquakes, are expected to head home starting as early as Friday night, local officials said Tuesday.
There are currently nine evacuees from the Tokara Islands off Kagoshima Prefecture, including Akuseki Island, according to authorities of Toshima, a village that includes the islands.
Seismic activity near the islands has slowed in recent days, paving the way for the islanders to return, the officials of the village said.
The village government is considering providing subsidies for livelihood support to all households on Akuseki Island and also Kodakara Island, another island in the Tokara chain.
There have been over 2,200 earthquakes strong enough to be felt around the Tokara Islands since seismic activity intensified on June 21. The biggest was a quake measuring lower 6, the third highest on the Japanese scale, that struck on July 3.
The number of earthquakes has lowered since Thursday. But the Meteorological Agency has warned people to stay alert for an earthquake around lower 6.
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