Strong Quake Hits Eastern Japan

Tokyo, June 16 (Jiji Press)–A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.5 jolted the Kanto eastern Japan region on Tuesday night. The temblor, which struck around 7:46 p.m., measured lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the city of Ota in Gunma Prefecture and the city of Honjo in Saitama Prefecture. The focus of the quake was about 50 kilometers beneath southern Ibaraki Prefecture along the boundary between the continental plate and the Philippine Sea plate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. In areas where tremors were strong, attention should be paid to earthquakes with a maximum seismic intensity of lower 5 for about a week, the agency said. According to the prefectural governments of Gunma and Saitama, there were no reports of residential or human damage as of 8:30 p.m. East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, briefly suspended Shinkansen bullet train services in some sections on the Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku lines. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]