Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media.
The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground.
Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling.
Photo: Kazuki Kozaki, Kyodo News via AP
When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows.
The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing at a hot spring.
The video, which had been viewed more than 6 million times, generated discussion online in Japan.
One commenter said the tourists are clearly from Taiwan because they began filming when the earthquake started, adding that they did not appear to panic, because they are so used to earthquakes in Taiwan.
Another said they felt a sense of goodwill when the tourists gently laid the TV down.
Others said the tourists were so calm during the quake that they could protect themselves and the TV.
“Only our friends from Taiwan can calmly handle the situation. Those who are not from earthquake-prone areas would probably have panicked and fallen down the stairs under that level of shaking,” a person commented on X.
However, another commenter said that while it was noteworthy they protected the TV, their own personal safety should be top priority.
Taiwanese journalist Emmy Hu (胡采蘋) wrote on Facebook that the video showed exactly what Taiwanese would do under similar circumstances.
“Honestly, I would probably hold on to the TV as well if I were them. What if the screen fell and shattered all over the tatami? Just thinking about having to clean tiny glass shards out of the mat gives me the creeps,” Hu said.
“So, there you go. This is something I or any other Taiwanese would do, and if they were cooking hot pot when the earthquake hit, they would flee the scene with it as well,” she said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an aftershock advisory for seven prefectures and 182 municipalities, stretching from Hokkaido to Chiba.
The Tourism Administration said it had not received any reports from travel agencies, major travel associations or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan of tour groups being affected.
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