Strong earthquake jolts Tokyo region; few injuries
5/4/2014TOKYO — A strong earthquake jolted Tokyo early Monday, rattling windows and nerves, though there were no initial reports major damage and few injuries.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake at 5:18 a.m. local time (2018 GMT Sunday) had a magnitude of 6.0 and was centered 160 kilometers (99 miles) under the seabed near Izu Oshima island south of Tokyo.
The quake was felt across a wide area of Japan, with the strongest shaking registered in central Tokyo, the agency reported. The Tokyo Fire Department reported that four people were injured, but details were not immediately available.
The national broadcaster NHK said it was the strongest quake felt in the Japanese capital since the aftershocks of a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 off the northeastern coast that left more than 18,500 people dead or missing.
There were no reports of damage or other abnormalities from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, which was crippled in the 2011 disasters, leading to the closures of all Japan’s nuclear reactors for safety checks.
NHK reported some delays in train services Monday and said speed restrictions were imposed on expressways in the affected area as a precaution.