Where did that come from? Japan grows additional 300m of coastline

Japan has grown in size after a 300m-long strip of new coastline emerged from the sea, rising up to 10m-high in some places. The expansion of the overcrowded nation took place near the town of Rausu on Hokkaido island at the country’s northern tip. The emergence of the additional stretch of shoreline, revealing what used to be the sea floor, initially sparked fears a major earthquake was imminent, similar to the 9.0-magnitude seismic shock and tsunami of March 2011. The double disaster, which led to meltdowns and radioactive leaks at the Fukushima nuclear plant, killed almost 16,000 people and destroyed the lives of thousands more.

An aerial survey indicates that the land swell happened as a result of a landslide.

Researcher Yoshinori Yajima

But geologists believe the phenomenon was probably a result of a nearby landslide, caused by melting ice and snow, pivoting the submerged area of land into the air. The authorities do no expect it to expand further. An official at the central government’s Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau, said: “Our understanding is that this is different from earthquakes." Rausu is not the only place where Japan is expanding. A new island recently emerged from the sea 620 miles south of Tokyo and continues to grow as the volcano at its centre spews out magma.

Science Japan gets bigger