Powerful Quake Hits Northeastern Japan

Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)–A powerful earthquake hit the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan on Thursday morning, measuring upper 6, the second-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale, in Aomori Prefecture. The temblor, with an estimated magnitude of 6.9, occurred around 7:30 a.m. at a depth of about 50 kilometers off Iwate Prefecture, south of Aomori, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. No tsunamis are believed to have occurred as a result of the earthquake. An advisory for a subsequent powerful earthquake off the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido or the Sanriku coastal areas in northeastern Japan was not issued because the criteria for such an advisory were not met. The seismic intensity level of upper 6 was recorded in the Aomori town of Hashikami, the agency said. The neighboring city of Hachinohe in the prefecture logged lower 6, the third-highest level on the Japanese scale. East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, suspended both northbound and southbound services of the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train line between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations due to the quake. The Shinkansen services between Tokyo and Sendai Station in Miyagi Prefecture, part of Tohoku, resumed at 9:30 a.m., while the restart of operations between Sendai and Shin-Aomori is expected around 1 p.m. No abnormalities have been confirmed at nuclear power stations or other nuclear facilities in Tohoku and Hokkaido, according to the secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The government set up an emergency response office at the crisis management center of the prime minister’s office. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed government staff to quickly grasp the extent of damage and provide information to the public. She urged people to be on alert for possible earthquakes of a similar size. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference that no injuries from the temblor have been reported. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]