Tokyo, Oct. 29 (Jiji Press)–An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.5 struck Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, around 12:07 a.m. Thursday, with no tsunami reported. A seismic intensity of lower 5, the fifth-highest level on the Japanese scale, was recorded in the Chiba town of Yokoshibahikari. No damage has been reported in the prefecture, the Chiba prefectural government said. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the temblor occurred at a depth of 52 kilometers in northeastern Chiba, at the boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate, which is moving beneath the landward plate, and the deeper-subducting Pacific Plate. The agency urged residents in the areas that experienced strong tremors to stay alert for possible earthquakes with an intensity of up to around lower 5 over the next week or so. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
