TOKYO: Japan held annual exercises on Friday to prepare for disasters but this year it was not just the danger of earthquakes and tsunamis that was on the minds of many people — the threat of North Korean missiles also loomed large.
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries and it carries out disaster drills every year on Sept. 1, the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that killed at least 100,000 people and devastated Tokyo.
Military helicopters clattered over Tokyo as authorities practiced for a 7.3 magnitude quake directly under the capital.
“In order to save even one additional life, we will promote preventive measures to tackle various types of disasters and a well-balanced disaster prevention plan based on self-help, public assistance and cooperation,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after taking part in a drill.
Towns in north Japan took the opportunity to remind residents what to do, not only when Mother Nature strikes but when a North Korean missile approaches too.
On Tuesday, North Korea fired a ballistic missile over northern Japan, triggering widespread emergency warnings that jolted millions awake, before it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
Sirens blared again on Friday in towns like Takikawa in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, and residents took cover inside, in line with government warnings to seek shelter below ground or in a solid building.
Not that residents needed a reminder of the danger.
“The real thing happened before the drills, so today everyone took part with a sense of urgency,” one resident of a northern town told a broadcaster.
The government says there is a 70 percent chance a magnitude 7 earthquake right under Tokyo in the next 30 years.
On March 11, 2011, Japan’s northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, which triggered huge tsunami waves.
About 20,000 people were killed and the tsunami triggered a meltdown at a nuclear plant, the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.
Japanese towns hold drills for natural disasters, and missiles too
Japanese towns hold drills for natural disasters, and missiles too
UK starts visa requirements for St. Lucians
- Saint Lucia’s government said it was actively engaging with British government
- It said it would continue talks to “explore pathways for maintaining strong mobility arrangements“
CASTRIES: Britain has introduced a visa requirement for Saint Lucians effective from Thursday citing a “notable increase” in nationals from the small Caribbean nation claiming asylum, Saint Lucia’s government said in a statement.
Immigration is one of Britain’s most politically sensitive issues, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has sought to show it is tightening the system as the populist Reform UK party gains ground in opinion polls.
Saint Lucia, a former British colony, has a population of about 180,000. Last year, the World Bank estimated a net emigration of just 23 people.
Its government said it was actively engaging with British government and would continue talks to “explore pathways for maintaining strong mobility arrangements.”
It said it was informed in a letter dated Wednesday.
Saint Lucia is a member of the Commonwealth, an association of mostly former British colonies. Before the 1970s, nationals of many of these had the right to live and work in the UK. Saint Lucians previously needed a 16 pound Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to travel to the UK. \
There will be a six-week transition for ETA holders, its government said.
On Tuesday, Britain said it would block study visas for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan and halt work visas for Afghans.
