Japan marks quake anniversary amid new safety fears

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tearful mourners lit candles and prayed
in silence in the western Japanese city of Kobe on Tuesday on
the 11th anniversary of a devastating earthquake, while others
held drills to try to prepare themselves for the next big
quake.

A predawn 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed more than 6,400
people in Kobe in 1995 and shook the faith of many Japanese in
the country’s earthquake precautions by toppling buildings that
were supposed to have been quake-proof.

Such concerns were revived late last year when an
architect, who said he was under pressure from property
developers to cut costs, admitted to faking safety data on
scores of buildings including apartment blocks and hotels.

A grim-faced Susumu Ojima, president of Huser Ltd., which
sold many of the apartments in question, arrived at Japan’s
parliament to give testimony on Tuesday, as lawmakers try to
untangle the roots of the scam.

Japan’s privatized building inspection system has come
under scrutiny, with experts saying inspectors were under
pressure to certify buildings quickly to gain more business.

Disaster drills around the country on Tuesday tried to help
people get ready for the next big earthquake.

In a drill at Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills, a sprawling business
and shopping complex where about 20,000 people work,
participants crawled through a room filled with smoke and tried
their hand at tying ropes and performing first-aid.

“There are predictions that Tokyo will be hit with a huge
earthquake soon,” said Shuichi Sano, a Roppongi Hills official
who organized the event.

“We need drills like these to make sure people don’t panic
when an earthquake comes.”

Miki Ogawa, a 28-year-old sales clerk, said she felt better
prepared after being inside an experimental booth that
simulated the experience of a big earthquake.

“All I could do was crouch under a table today. I think the
experience will be useful, though,” she said.

Last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan government said that an
earthquake in Tokyo of the same magnitude of the one that hit
Kobe would probably kill 11,000 people and cause more than $1
trillion in economic damage.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone
countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Chisa Fujioka)