About 1 million Japanese were mobilized on Thursday to engage in annual nationwide drills against major earthquakes.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi convened a mock emergency meeting following an assumed devastating earthquake in the capital and its vicinity.

The government has been warning three major earthquakes decades ahead on the Pacific side of Japan's main island. One tremor, estimated at 7.3 on the Richter scale and 6 plus in Japan's 7-level intensity gauge, would hit Tokyo directly. The government fears that the earthquake could kill over 100,000 people.

Koizumi set up a task force and told the Japanese to keep calm. He also held a videoconference with the mayor of the neighboring Chiba City before flying in himself to participate a rescue exercise.

The premier joined elementary school students in experiencing a huge quake on a simulator, according to Kyodo News. With his hands gripping tightly the table and chair on the facility and hair swaying around, Koizumi said, "What a shock!"

Japan is very much prone to earthquakes. The day of Sept. 1 is designated "Disaster Prevention Day" to commemorate the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. More than 100,000 people were killed by the earthquake and the fire ensued across Tokyo and the neighboring areas.

Editor: Yan