Period of Japan mega-quake advisory ends, but caution still needed

Japan lifted a week-old warning that a "megaquake" could potentially strike, the country's disaster management minister said on Thursday.

The official issued the advisory one week ago after a magnitude 7.1 quake struck off Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan, saying the risk of a mega-quake hitting somewhere along the Nankai Trough is higher than normal.

The officials had said that the advisory does not mean that a quake will definitely strike within a certain timeframe. But they had asked more than 700 municipalities in 29 prefectures to check their preparedness for a possible disaster.