A: Hey buddy, did you catch the latest news?
B: Not yet, what's up?

A: Turns out Japan might be facing some serious damage from a big earthquake coming up!
B: Whoa, really? How bad are we talking?

A: The experts say it could cost around 10 trillion dollars! That's a lot of money!
B: No kidding! What kind of damage are they expecting?

A: Well, the initial costs for structural rebuilding and business losses would be about 1.8 trillion dollars. Then there's another 2 trillion for damaged roads and railways in the first year.
B: That's already a big chunk! But it gets worse, right?

A: Yeah, the experts looked at the long-term impact on the economy too. They estimate that the total damage over 20 years could reach 8.5 trillion dollars!
B: Whoa... that's insane! What can be done to prevent some of this damage?

A: They say around 400 billion could be saved if we spend more than 58 trillion yen on making infrastructure quake-resistant over a decade. It's a lot, but it's better than losing all that money!
B: That sounds like a good plan. Let's hope they can make it happen!
----------------

Japanese experts estimate that long-term economic damage from an anticipated massive earthquake in the Nankai Trough off Japan's Pacific coast could reach 1,466 trillion yen, or about 10 trillion dollars.



The Japanese government released new damage estimates on the megaquake in March of this year.



It said the costs of structural rebuilding, together with production declines at impacted businesses, add up to 270.3 trillion yen, or about 1.8 trillion dollars.



Economic losses during the year after the disaster, including severed roads and railways, would total some 292 trillion yen, or about 2 trillion dollars.



A panel of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers estimated the effects of the megaquake on economic activity over the ensuing approximately 20 years.



Damage to assets would total 225 trillion yen, or about 1.5 trillion dollars, and economic damage -- an assessment of long-term decline in economic activity -- would total 1,241 trillion yen, or about 8.5 trillion dollars.



The panel's figure is more than five times the government estimate in March, and an increase of 56 trillion yen, or about 380 billion dollars, from the panel's previous estimate in 2018.



The panel explains that it took into account the results of analyses of production recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and recent price hikes.



The estimate does not include the impact of post-quake reconstruction projects.



The panel stresses the importance of preparatory measures, noting that 31 percent of the economic damage could be avoided if more than 58 trillion yen, or about 400 billion dollars, were spent on making infrastructure quake-resistant over roughly a decade.