Kumamoto Hit by Japan's Highest Seismic Intensity Again: Reflecting on the Japanese “Earthquake Instinct”

This evening, news broke that an earthquake registering a 7—the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale—had struck Kumamoto.

Whenever I hear Kumamoto mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the series of earthquakes that hit the region more than ten years ago.

At the time, large sections of Kumamoto Castle’s stone walls collapsed. I still remember seeing the footage and being shocked that a Japanese castle could sustain so much damage.

Now the region has once again experienced extremely powerful shaking.

At the time of writing, I have not seen any reports of damage to Kumamoto Castle, but the full extent of the destruction will probably become clear only with time.

Based on the news coverage so far, there does not appear to be widespread panic.

Of course, people near the epicenter must be facing an extraordinarily difficult situation. In areas farther away, however, even with disrupted transportation and power outages, many people seem to be calmly checking the situation and deciding what to do next.

This is a familiar sight in Japan.

To people overseas, however, it can apparently look quite unusual.

I once read an article in which people from other countries expressed surprise and asked, “Why are Japanese people so calm?”

When I think about it, perhaps people in Japan do have an unusual sensitivity to earthquakes.

Many people do not even notice an earthquake at intensity 1 or 2.

At around intensity 3, they finally look up and say, “Oh, it’s an earthquake.”

At intensity 4, people become a little more alert. If the furniture starts shaking, many will turn on the television and wonder, “Is this going to last?”

Then there is intensity 7.

At that point, everything changes. Buildings may collapse, and the possibility of death suddenly feels real.

This is not to say that Japanese people are somehow unaffected by earthquakes. An intensity 7 earthquake is terrifying for anyone.

Still, over many years, people in Japan seem to have developed an instinctive sense, based on experience, of which shaking is likely to pass safely and which signals real danger.

After living through earthquake after earthquake, the threshold of danger becomes something the body recognizes.

That is not bravery, nor is it insensitivity.

It may be an adaptation people have developed in order to survive.

This response is not unique to Japan. I have heard that people in earthquake-prone places such as the west coast of the United States and the Philippines often react in similar ways.

In the end, human beings adapt to the disasters they repeatedly experience.

But that adaptation also has a frightening side.

The assumption that “this level of shaking should be fine” will not always be correct.

During the previous Kumamoto earthquakes, an even more powerful shock followed an already major one, catching many people off guard.

Nature does not follow the rules we derive from experience.

The full extent of the current damage is still unknown.

I hope that Kumamoto Castle and other important cultural properties have escaped serious harm. Above all, I hope that as many people as possible are safe.

And although I live in Tokyo, I do not want to become complacent simply because this earthquake happened elsewhere. At the very least, it is time for me to check my emergency supplies again.