Residents Should Stay Home after Mt. Fuji Eruption: Panel

Tokyo, March 21 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese government expert panel said Friday that residents of Tokyo and nearby prefectures should continue life in their own homes as much as they can in the event of an eruption of Mount Fuji.

This was proposed as a basic response in a report on measures to deal with ash fall damage from a possible eruption of Japan's tallest mountain in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which was written by the Cabinet Office panel headed by University of Tokyo professor emeritus Toshitsugu Fujii.

Meanwhile, the report also said that the government should call on the public to evacuate if the ash fall reaches 30 centimeters or more, as the weight of ash may increase if it rains, possibly causing wooden buildings to collapse.

The Cabinet Office plans to draw up guidelines for dealing with such a disaster and request local governments and businesses to make preparations.

The panel considered responses based on four stages of severity, defining as stage 4 a situation with an ash fall of 30 centimeters or more.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]