Japan Police Preparing for Possible Mount Fuji Eruption

Tokyo, June 19 (Jiji Press)--Japan's National Police Agency has started making full-fledged preparations for a possible eruption of Mount Fuji, the tallest peak in the country.

The NPA will purchase dust masks for distribution to local police departments, assuming that volcanic ash may fall in not only areas near Mount Fuji but also the metropolitan region in the event of an eruption, informed sources said.

"We need to make preparations for a potential complex disaster, such as an eruption occurring after a massive earthquake," an expert said.

In April 2020, a working group of the Japanese government's central disaster management council compiled measures against volcanic ash from a possible eruption of 3,776-meter Mount Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures in central Japan.

If the wind direction is the same as that during the 1707 eruption of the mountain during the Hoei era, volcanic ash could fall in the Tokyo metropolitan area, possibly disrupting road traffic and causing power outages, the working group said, calling on relevant organizations to consider countermeasures.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]