The quick alert drew attention to how far Japan’s early-warning technology has advanced since the 2011 disaster, when delays and inaccurate readings left coastal towns with little time to escape. That quake and tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and caused a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

In response, Japan spent more than a decade building the world ’s largest seabed earthquake-monitoring system. 

The first network, S-net, extends across the Japan Trench and uses more than 3,500 miles of cable to link 150 ocean-floor observatories.

S-net can detect offshore shaking before it reaches land. In a 2018 quake, its sensors issued alerts 20 seconds faster than land-based instruments, allowing trains to slow and emergency warnings to be broadcast.

A second system, DONET, was built along the Nankai Trough, one of Japan’s most dangerous seismic zones. It was expanded in 2013 and later joined by N-net, completed in June 2025.

Together, the networks give Japan real-time coverage of its two major subduction zones. Authorities say the system can extend tsunami warning times by up to 20 minutes and provide more accurate readings of offshore quakes.

Scientists also benefit from continuous data on how faults move under the seabed, including slow-slip events that sometimes precede major earthquakes .

Local governments are improving evacuation plans, too. In September, the central government designated 108 coastal municipalities for enhanced tsunami-mitigation work, including new evacuation routes and warning facilities.

Sendai, one of the designated cities, has deployed automated drones that broadcast evacuation orders and relay images to disaster officials when normal communications fail.

It is indisputable that Japan, one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations, now has the world’s most advanced tsunami warning system. And the rapid alerts on December 8 showed how much more time authorities can now provide when offshore quakes strike.

The warning comes after a speech given by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te suggested the island country will "resist annexation" and a "regular exercise" from China.

Blinken warned China on Friday, October 11 to not use the speech as a premise for any action.

"I can tell you that with regard to the so-called 10.10 speech, which is a regular exercise, China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions, on the contrary, we want to reinforce -- and many other countries want to reinforce -- the imperative of preserving the status quo and neither party taking any actions that might undermine it," he said.

Blinken also added "Fifty percent of commercial container traffic goes through the Taiwan Strait every day; more than 70 percent of the high-end semiconductors that the world needs are produced on Taiwan. So there's a strong interest around the world on maintaining peace and stability, preserving the status quo, avoiding any kind of conflict that could disrupt things that are so essential to the global economy."

Since 1949, Taiwan has operated as a self-governing entity , separate from China. However, Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has pledged to "unify" the island with the mainland, even if it requires the use of force.

"I once saw photo documentation of the south side of the Carstensz peak ridge from the Bandung Technical Institute team in the 70s. It looked all white. When I climbed the mountain for the first time in 2005, there was no longer any snow on that part," said Fandi Ahmad, one of the mountain climbers from the University of Indonesia who shared his experience in the last week of November 2023.

The peak area of Carstensz Pyramid is indeed the main target area for climbers because that is the highest point in Indonesia. With a height of 4,884 meters above sea level, Carstensz Pyramid is even the highest point on the Australasian continent.

The Carstensz peak ridge, which is shaped like a swordfish's fin, is not an ideal cross-section for holding snow. However, the steep geographical shape has made the snow in the area look like it is hanging. However, it is believed that the hanging glacier is now completely extinct. At least that is what Ripto Mulyono believes.

The middle-aged man was a mountain climber in the 80s in Indonesia, who had climbed it many times. According to him, in the late 80s, the hanging glacier on the south side of the Carstensz peak ridge was still there. But when he climbed the mountain again in 2011, the hanging glacier was no longer there.

"Not only in Carstensz, the worst snow loss is at Jaya Peak and Soemantri Peak, which are in front of Carstensz Peak," said Ripto.

According to Ripto, who had climbed this area 37 times, every time he climbs, the snow continues to shrink. Especially in the saddle section that connects the Jaya and Soemantri peaks. It can be seen that the snow had separated in 2015.

This was also confirmed by data from the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency . In their research published in 2019, a picture was attached where the saddle camp area between Jaya and Soemantri peaks showed that the snow had separated in 2015.

Reportedly, the area of snow ice cover in the Central Mountains of Papua has shrunk by 98%, namely from 19.3 square km in 1850 to only 0.34 square km in 2020.

The latest data from the Sentinel-2A satellite shows the unstoppable shrinking of Papua's ice cover. According to the data report, shrinkage of 0.27 square km occurred in July 2021 and 0.23 square km in April 2022.

In November 2015 to 2016, ice thinning was very significant, up to 5m. This is likely due to the very strong El Niño effect from 2015 to 2016. Meanwhile, in early 2021, aerial photos showed that the ice thickness had decreased by another 12.5 m since November 2016, or the equivalent of a thinning rate of around 2.5m per year.

However, not only the Jaya and Soemantri peak areas were affected, the loss of snow also affected the Northwall Firn area, which is west of the Jaya and Soemantri peaks. The flat area, which is a soft space for snow to lay down was full of snow when observed by the first Dutch expedition to the area. However, in recent years it has allegedly disappeared altogether.

"The last time I passed that area in 2017, there was no longer any snow. In 2010, I saw that there was snow like many large blocks separated," said Henricus Mutter, from the oldest mountain climbing organization in Indonesia, Wanadri.

In fact, according to Ripto's story, the snow on Northwall Firn was a very thick layer that he had to pass through on his first expedition to that area, in 1989. "The depth of the snow can reach an adult's chest," said Ripto, closing the conversation in a sad voice.