Magnitude 6.9 quake hits northern Japan
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit northern Japan on Thursday morning, registering a rare upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the town of Hashikami, Aomori Prefecture. No tsunami warning has been issued.
A mild quake was also felt in Tokyo.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the epicenter was 50 kilometers deep off the coast of Iwate Prefecture. Aomori’s Hachinohe city registered a lower 6 while some cities in Iwate Prefecture registered an upper 5.
An upper 6 is when people can only crawl and are unable to walk during an earthquake. Unsecured furniture will topple over, according to the JMA.
The Tohoku Shinkansen line has halted its operation.
The Prime Minister’s Office has set up a task force over the quake.
Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that there was “no tsunami concern” and asked residents of the affected areas “to remain vigilant for the possibility of another earthquake of similar magnitude.”
There have been no reports of casualties so far and no abnormalities at nuclear power facilities in the area, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said in a news conference. Fuji TV reported that several people may have been trapped in an elevator in Hachinohe after it stopped due to the quake.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi ordered the Self-Defense Forces to conduct aerial intelligence-gathering operations in the quake-hit areas.
Northern Japan has been experiencing quakes in the past few months.
In May, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, measuring a lower 5 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, struck the Tohoku region, while in April, a magnitude 7.7 quake struck the same area, causing authorities to issue a special advisory to be on alert for a larger quake.
This is a developing story. Updates to follow.
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