The impact was powerful enough to shake buildings in central Tokyo, waking up many residents, in a reminder of how prone the Japanese capital is to earthquakes. A government study published in December found it likely that the city of 12.5 million would be hit by a major earthquake within the next 30 years that would leave up to 13,000 dead and disrupt the lives of millions. Japan, which lies at the crossing of four tectonic plates, endures about 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes, frequently jolting Tokyo and other major cities where buildings are made to be tremor resistant. On October 23, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale and striking only 13 kilometers underground rocked the central Niigata region, killing 40 people.


此次地震的威力足以让东京市中心的建筑物有震感，惊醒了许多居民，它提醒人们日本的首都是多么容易发生地震。 去年12月公布的一份政府研究报告发现，东京这个拥有1250万人口的城市将在今后30年里遭遇一次大的地震袭击，将造成超过1万3千人死亡，使数百万人的生活陷入混乱。 日本位于地壳四大板块的交会点上，受世界上20%的强烈地震的影响。地震频繁侵扰东京和其他几个主要城市，那里的建筑物都被设计为抗震型的。 去年10月23日，一场发生在地面以下仅13公里处的里氏6.8级地震袭击了日本新滹市中心，造成40人丧生。