Japan has a long history of often-devastating earthquakes

Tokyo's main shopping district pictured after the Kanto earthquake in 1923 Japan sits at the confluence of four major tectonic plates, making it hugely earthquake prone. The country has experienced several major disasters, claiming the lives of thousands of people. In 1923, an earthquake in the Tokyo region killed more than 100,000 people. Another quake that caused severe devastation was the Kobe earthquake that struck in 1995. It hit the port city of Kobe particularly hard. Also known as the Gr