Researchers in Japan say, there is a 70 per cent chance that a magnitude 7 earthquake will hit Tokyo within the next four years. The researchers at the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute today said, the estimate is based on higher than normal seismic activity in the area since a massive earthquake hit north-east of Tokyo last March. They said, there have been five times as many earthquakes in the Tokyo area after the quake compared to the number beforehand.

The March magnitude 9.0 quake was the strongest on record in Japan. The earthquake and a massive tsunami crippled a nuclear power plant and left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. A magnitude 7.9 quake known as the Great Kanto earthquake struck the capital in 1923, killing more than 100,000 people. Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries.