Moderate earthquake shakes Tokyo, no tsunami risk
TOKYO (Reuters) – An earthquake with a preliminary
magnitude of 5.7 shook areas near Tokyo on Saturday, Japan’s
Meteorological Agency said, but there were no immediate reports
of damage or casualties.
The epicenter of the moderate quake, which struck at 4:35
p.m. (0735 GMT), was 90 km (56 miles) deep in Chiba prefecture
near Tokyo, the agency said, adding there was no risk of a
tsunami.
The quake led to the stoppage of some bullet train
services, public broadcaster NHK said.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most
seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20
percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8
struck the Niigata region, killing about 40 people and injuring
more than 3,000.
That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor
hit the city of Kobe in 1995 that killed more than 6,400
people.