Fig. 1.

EW strain rate calculated from the GPS velocity field for the period from 1997 to 2001 (after figure 6(b) in Miura et al., 2004). The effect of interplate coupling is eliminated from a predicted model (Suwa et al., 2006). Blue and red areas denote contraction and extension, respectively. The effect of interplate coupling is eliminated. Solid lines represent traces of the inland active fault (Nakata and Imaizumi, 2002). Red triangles indicate Quaternary active volcanoes. Gray dashed lines encircle strain concentration zones of the Ou-backbone Range (OBR) and the northeastern part of the Niigata-Kobe Tectonic Zone (NKTZ). Stars represent the epicenters of damaging earthquakes since 1896. Blue circles represent the epicenters of inland earthquakes (larger than Mw 6) from October 1997 to March 10, 2011.