An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
Japan is placed at a collision zone of at least four lithospheric plates (crust and uppermost solid mantle): the Eurasian/Chinese Plate, the North American Plate, the Philippine Plate and the Pacific Plate. The continuous movements of these plates create a lot of energy which is released from time to time in earthquakes and tsunamis of varying magnitude and effects. 
Written records of strong earthquakes date back at least 1.600 years. In the 1600's the village of Edo(modern Tokyo) became the capital of the unified Japan. The city rapidly grew and soon reached hundreds of thousands of inhabitants – one of the largest cities at the time. Unfortunately this strategic position at the bay of Tokyo was and is still today a seismic active area.Until 1860 however Japanese naturalists were less interested in exploring the cause of earthquakes than the effects of such an extraordinary event and mythical explanations prevailed. The English geologists John Milne (1849-1913), who in 1880 founded the Seismologists Society of Japan, studied the effects of this earthquake and published an important monographic work “The great earthquake in Japan, 1891“. During the second half of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century scientific research on earthquakes became rapidly established in Japan.
December 31, 1703 Japan was hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude intensity of 8. In Edo most of the wood buildings collapsed. The earthquake and its aftermath effects, like floods and fires, killed estimated 150.000 people. More than 6.500 people were killed by a flood wave. One of the most important historic earthquakes hit Tokyo November 11, 1855, killing 16.000 to 20.000 people. This event and the aftermath are retold by hundreds of woodcuts, especially in the form of a namazu-e (colored woodblocks). October 28, 1891, the agricultural region of Nobi experienced an earthquake of magnitude 8. Modern buildings and traditional houses were damaged or collapsed, thousands of people lost their homes and 7.000 people were killed.
On September 1, 1923, the city of Yokohama and Tokyo were hit again by an earthquake, today remembered as the Great Kanto- earthquake. More than 99.000 people were killed by the collapse of buildings, a 10 to 12m high tsunami and fires. The bodies of more than 40.000 victims were never found.
In January 1995 the industrial city of Kobe was hit by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2, the strongest earthquake in Japan since 1923. More than 6.000 people were killed and more than 300.000 people lost their homes.
The destructive tsunami of March 11, 2011 was triggered by the strongest ever recorded earthquake in historic times with a magnitude of 9, still one year later aftershocks are concentrated in the region where it generated.
For your safety be aware that Japan is very seismically active with more than 1,500 earthquakes per year. Learn some basic earthquake drills before you go or even for where you live...anything can happen.
Here is a earthquake drill exercise: Drop, Cover and Hold on!- Drop to the ground (before the earthquake drops you)!
- Take Cover by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and
- Hold on to it until the shaking stops.
If there isn't a desk or table nearby, drop to the ground in an inside corner of the building and cover your head and neck with your hands and arms. Do not run to another room to get under a table.
Official rescue teams who have been dispatched to the scene of earthquakes and other disasters around the world continuously use the internationally known "Drop, Cover and Hold on" protocol to protect lives during earthquakes.
Earthquake Safety Tips:
-The more you know~
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