An air carrier Captain cited the company's removal of relief pilots on all night RJAA/PHNL round trips as detrimental to safety. Also cited was the frequent occurrence of earthquakes in Japan which compound the difficulty of achieving adequate rest prior to such trips.

Narrative

Flight operations management has chosen to remove the relief First Officer on an all night flight from Narita to Honolulu. Furthermore; the westbound HNL-NRT flight on our trip was over 8 hours and is also operated with only basic crew of Captain and F/O. It is unsafe and company must return immediately to three pilots on this flight. I was unable to sleep during the day in Tokyo; as I was awakened by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake; then learned of a tsunami warning that was issued. There is no surprise that there are frequent earthquakes in Japan. Actually this is the second time within the last few months where I've been awakened by a major earthquake while attempting to get necessary rest in Japan. During the flight; my level of functioning was greatly impaired. Fatigue and stress were the main reasons for my condition. There is absolutely no way that safe flight operations can be guaranteed on these flights if we continue to fly them without a Relief First Officer. I request that this report be forwarded to our FAA Principal Operations Inspector.