TOKYO, October 23 (RIA Novosti) — A massive volcanic eruption could disrupt all life in Japan over the next hundred years, a study by researchers from Kobe University says.
The research, released on the University's website on Wednesday, concluded there was a slim chance of one percent that life in Japan could be "shut down" as a result of a caldera eruption, similar to the Aira Caldera near the modern city of Kagoshima, in southern Kyushu island. This 20-kilometer volcanic crater was formed some 28,000 years ago.
Prof. Yoshiyuki Tatsumi and Associate Prof. Keiko Suzuki said that the worst-case scenario for an eruption of equal strength would be the disruption of lives of some 120,000 people, which is almost the entire population of the country.
The research warned that Japan is home to almost seven percent of the world’s volcanoes that have erupted over the past 10,000 years, which makes it vital to study and monitor volcanic activity.
The most recent volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake in late September on the Honshu island, southwest of Tokyo, killed 57 people, in what is the deadliest eruption since Torishima in 1902.
