Photo/Illutration A derailed Tohoku Shinkansen in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 17 (Hiroyuki Yamamoto)

When speaking of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, images immediately spring to mind of collapsed buildings and the ensuing fires that reduced communities to ashes.

But the temblor also caused extensive damage to the railway network.

When it struck just before noon, 125 trains were running in the affected area, according to "Kanto Daishinsai to Tetsudo" (The Great Kanto Earthquake and the railway), by Muneharu Uchida.

A train jumped the rails and plunged into a rice paddy. Another was demolished together with a station building that came down and sank into the sea.

A total of 27 trains were derailed, toppled over or washed away, killing numerous passengers.

Today's earthquake-proofing technology is incomparably more advanced than back then. Still, that doesn't eliminate accidents.

Many people must have shuddered at the images of a stopped bullet train with its cars in a zigzag pattern.

A Tohoku Shinkansen derailed in the powerful near-midnight quake on March 16 that registered a maximum intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7.

"I hit the top of my head in a violent, vertical jolt," said one passenger. "I had to hold onto the armrests to avoid being tossed off my seat," recalled another.

From their statements, it feels like a miracle that nobody was hurt.

It appears that the train was nearing a station and slowing when the emergency brake engaged.

Aside from what actually happened, there must have been many things that fortunately did not happen.

What if the station was still far ahead and the train was traveling at a speed of over 300 kph, or there were many more trains in operation everywhere?

Cracks formed on an expressway. But had the quake occurred in the daytime, how many more vehicles would there have been?

There are situations that no amount of preparedness can prevent. And yet, we just have to try to be prepared. And that applies to every citizen, every local government and every business.

That, I believe, is what living in this earthquake-prone country boils down to. I remind myself of this anew in this anniversary month of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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