The damages from such an earthquake could cost equivalent to 20,000 billion kronor – a sum that corresponds to nearly half of Japan's GDP.
The figures come from the government's latest calculation of the potential consequences of an earthquake along the Nankai deep-sea trench. The 80-mile long trough runs from Shizuoka west of Tokyo to the southern end of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four large islands.
According to the assessment, up to 215,000 people could perish in a tsunami following a massive earthquake, 73,000 from collapsed buildings and 9,000 from fires.
The figures are, however, lower than in the latest calculation in 2014. Then, it was estimated that up to 323,000 people could perish in an earthquake along Nankai. The probability of a larger earthquake in the area is considered higher than usual, since an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 shook the island of Kyushu in August last year.
