Japan's coast guard and the Self-Defense Forces have jointly conducted a drill to transport relief supplies to an isolated area from the sea in the event of a huge earthquake.

The drill was held in Ibaraki Prefecture's Oarai Town, north of Tokyo, on Wednesday. It was carried out under the scenario that a district had been isolated as roads and port facilities had been damaged due to jolts at the strongest level on Japan's quake scaling system.

The exercise involved a patrol ship from the Japan Coast Guard and an amphibious vehicle from the Ground Self-Defense Force.

Officials confirmed the procedure to transport relief supplies smoothly.

Under the drill, the amphibious vehicle went to the ship around 700 meters off the coast, and then returned to the shore.

After coming ashore, the amphibious vehicle, which can run on bad roads, traveled to its destination guided by a police car.

A GSDF officer said disasters cause isolation in various forms. She also said she hopes personnel will be better prepared for the situation in which a transportation route is secured from the coast to an isolated area in the event of a disaster.

A coast guard official pointed out that routes on the ground were cut off in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, which struck central Japan on January 1. He said the coast guard will work together with relevant organizations in this kind of drill for effective transportation of relief supplies.