Government Research Committee Discussed Possible Cause of Noto Peninsula Earthquake

The Yomiuri Shimbun
People walking on a road that was damaged by the earthquake in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 2.

The government’s Earthquake Research Committee held a meeting on Monday to assess the cause of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, which registered a magnitude of 7.6 in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1.

The earthquake was the largest in the Noto region since 1885, the earliest year for which records exist.

Seismic activity has increased since Jan. 1 in the region, extending for about 150 kilometers to the southwest from the northeastern tip of the Noto Peninsula.

The research committee indicated at the emergency meeting held on Jan. 2 that there is a possibility that a fault extending for about 150 kilometers had shifted.

There is a known active fault zone, about 100 kilometers long, on the northern side of the peninsula.

Experts in the research committee discussed the possible link between this active fault zone and the earthquake.