Nihon Chinbotsu plot
Scientists predict that Japan will disappear into the sea within 40 years, due to a shift of a western layer of the earth. Doctor Tadokoro, the leader of a scientific oceanographic research team that also includes Toshiro, calculates that this phenomenon will occur much sooner, within just a year. He presents the results of his research to Prime Minister Yamamoto, who decides to create a new ministry. This department for combating (the consequences of) disasters is headed by Mrs. Saoro Takamori, who is the most suitable of its ministers to approach the problem seriously. As further earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions ravage Japan, the government is trying to persuade other countries to allow evacuees.