TOKYO: A magnitude-7.3 earthquake struck northern Japan near Fukushima prefecture late on Wednesday, killing four and injuring dozens of people, as well as derailing a bullet train and disrupting power.
Four people have died and 97 people have been injured, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference Thursday morning. More than 15,000 buildings were still without power as of 10.45 am (8.45am Bangkok) in Japan’s northeastern region, while production at some companies was stopped.
The quake shook buildings in parts of Tokyo. It hit at a depth of 60 kilometers and struck at 11.36pm local time Wednesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The affected area was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that killed more than 16,000 and triggered a nuclear crisis in Fukushima. The disaster led to the shutdown of all of Japan’s nuclear plants, forcing the country to rely on other sources of energy such as coal and natural gas.
The latest quake also triggered a tsunami warning, which was later lifted and appeared to be less powerful according to magnitude readings.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that authorities are looking into a total of four deaths apparently caused by the quake, while the Defence Ministry dispatched the Self-Defence Forces for disaster relief in Fukushima Prefecture to provide water service in areas where supply has been disrupted.
"We will take all possible measures to respond (to the disaster)," Kishida told a parliamentary session. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said there have been no problems with safety at nuclear power plants in the quake-hit areas.
Toyota Motor Corp said it suspended operations at plants in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures. Memory-chip maker Kioxia Holdings Corp said some systems had been halted at one of its plants and it was looking into possible impact on its production.
A Tohoku bullet train has derailed on a stretch of track linking Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, East Japan Railway Co said, although there were no reported injuries. The company said it halted the operation of bullet trains between Nasushiobara Station and Morioka Station from Thursday morning because of the accident, with the timing of resuming the services remaining unclear.
Tokyo Electric Power Co said around 2 million buildings in its service area lost electricity, although power was restored by the morning.
Nuclear regulators said a fire alarm went off at Fukushima’s Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, although it was later determined there was no fire. Water pumps used to cool spent fuel pools at the Dai-Ni plant were also halted, before coming back online.
Refinery company Eneos Holdings Inc said operations at its oil-fired Negishi plant were halted. The intensity of the shaking was estimated at an upper 6 on Japan’s shindo scale of 7 in parts of Miyagi prefecture, according to JMA. A tsunami of 20 centimetres was recorded in the prefecture and residents of some towns were told to evacuate, the broadcaster NHK reported.
Relatively small tsunami waves were observed at Ishinomaki port in Miyagi and other locations as the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the Pacific coast of Miyagi and Fukushima.
