A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 jolted eastern and north-eastern Japan on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages and no tsunami warning was issued.
The earthquake measured 4 in central Tokyo, Fukushima and their surrounding areas on the Japanese intensity scale, which measures ground motion, according to Japan Meteorological Agency, which uses a different measuring system than the US Geological Survey.
A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power said there were no reports of any abnormalities at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plan following the quake.
Some high-speed train services in northern Japan were suspended after the earthquake, but soon resumed operations, Kyodo news reported.
The 7.0 magnitude earthquake, at a depth of nearly 217 miles, was recorded off Japan’s south-eastern Izu islands on Sunday at 0527 GMT, the US Geological Survey reported.
The Hawaii-based US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake located south-southwest of Hachijo-jima in the Izu islands.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years since Chernobyl.
The disaster left up to 23 000 dead or missing.
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