The Kyoto Overseas Studies Program will continue as planned next quarter, despite the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit the east coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest island.

According to program director Andrew Horvat, students will arrive at the end of the month and their safety will not be affected by the quake.

“Kyoto is about 450 miles to the west of the affected area so even if students were in Kyoto there would be no safety issues,” Horvat wrote in an e-mail to The Daily.

“We do have emergency preparedness plans in place and we are fully aware of the dangers posed by earthquakes in Japan,” he added.

-Ivy Nguyen