M6.0 quake jolts northeastern Japan, no tsunami warning issued

by KYODO
April 2, 2024

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 jolted a wide area in northeastern Japan early Tuesday, the weather agency said. No tsunami warning was issued.

The 4:24 a.m. quake registered lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in areas including Hachinohe and Misawa in Aomori Prefecture, and Miyako and Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

It measured 4 in many other areas of the two prefectures, including Higashidori, Morioka and Hanamaki, as well as Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture.

The focus of the quake was in northern Iwate Prefecture at a depth of about 71 kilometers, the agency said. It initially said the preliminary magnitude was 6.1 with a focus depth of 80 km.

No abnormalities were detected after the quake at the Onagawa or Higashidori nuclear power plants, located respectively in Miyagi and Aomori prefectures, the operator Tohoku Electric Power Co. said. The plants were offline at the time of the quake.

Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. said the quake did not affect the operation of its reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.

A woman in her 70s in Hachinohe injured her left wrist after falling out of bed following the quake, according to local firefighters.