Japan Sinks

is a Japanese disaster novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. First published in 1973, Komatsu took nine years to complete the work and the publisher wanted it to be written in two different sections for double-release. The novel received the 27th Mystery Writers of Japan Award and the Seiun Award for a Japanese novel-length work. In 1995, after the Osaka-Kobe earthquake, Komatsu published a second English abridged edition. In 2006, a sequel to the novel was published and there is talk of a third.

The novel has led to works in other media as well as a sequel: a film based on the novel made in the same year (1973) directed by Shiro Moritani, a TV Drama by TBS broadcasted in 1974-75, a film remake in 2006 by Shinji Higuchi, and an original net animation anime series on Netflix by Science Saru released with 10 episodes on July 9, 2020 with the name Japan Sinks: 2020.

Japan Sinks: 2020
Shortly after the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, a major earthquake hits Japan. Amidst the chaos, siblings Ayumu and Gou of the Mutou household, begin to escape the city with their family of four. The sinking Japanese archipelagos, however, relentlessly pursue the family.

Plunged into extreme conditions, life and death, and the choice of meeting and parting—in the face of dreadful reality, the Mutou siblings believe in the future and acquire the strength to survive with utmost effort.