Quake-hit Japan region worries about business over tremors

Tokyo - Residents of the Izu Peninsula in eastern Japan said Monday that the more than 240 earthquakes that have jolted the region since Thursday have also hit the local economy hard. About 800 reservations, representing more than 2,200 people, have been canceled at hotels and inns, an official at the Ito Hotel and Hot Spring Association said Monday, adding that the actual numbers were sure to be much larger.

Ito, located in the eastern part of the peninsula, is known for its scenic beauty, hot springs and fresh fish. It attracts domestic and overseas tourists all year around, and in this winter holiday season, its tourist industry had expected the area's hotel occupancy rates to be more than 90 per cent, but that number is now dropping.

Takayuki Higurashi, an official at the Ito Tourist Association, warned that the tourist cancellations could aggravate the region's economy, especially at a time when the nation's protracted economic downturn has hit the local economy hard.

Industry officials said that although their children are going to school and hotels, restaurants and other businesses are open as usual in an area whose residents are used to small quakes, they were worried about more cancellations.

"We have got to wait for the government to officially announce the series of earthquakes has come to an end, but it would be probably difficult for them to do so soon," Higurashi said. "If there are no more earthquakes, we expect more hotel rooms to be booked."

On Friday, a magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck the region, leaving seven injured and some houses damaged. There had been 246 tremors detectable by people since Thursday evening, the Meteorological Agency said.

It said Friday that more earthquakes, including one with a magnitude of around 5, were likely to hit the region over the next 10 days.

Although only two earthquakes have occurred in the region since Monday morning, the agency said they were still on alert.

It was a typical earthquake swarm, said Takashi Yokota, a Meteorological Agency official. The agency has observed 45 earthquake swarms in the region in the past 30 years, he said.