Death toll rises in Japan. Why does the country experience so many large earthquakes?

The death toll from the recent earthquake in Japan has risen to 30 as rescue and relief efforts continue. Survivors are currently facing difficult conditions, with hundreds of elderly residents seeking shelter in community centers, such as one in Uki city, where they are sleeping on hard floors to escape punishing heat.

Japan experiences frequent and damaging seismic activity due to its unique geographic position. The island nation is situated at the intersection of four tectonic plates and lies along the "Ring of Fire," a 25,000-mile zone characterized by constant shifts in the Earth’s crust. This geological location makes the country particularly susceptible to large-scale earthquakes.