5.5 Earthquake Jolts Tokyo Area
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Japan including Tokyo on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
No tsunami warning was issued for the 9:01 p.m. (1201 GMT) quake, the agency said. The tremor was also observed in central Tokyo. The focus of the quake was southern Ibaraki prefecture, about 70 km northeast of Tokyo, at a depth of 60 km.
It registered a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in Maoka City in Tochigi Prefecture, some 90 km north of Tokyo. The weather agency defines an intensity of lower 5 as strong enough to make hanging objects swing violently and most unstable ornaments fall.
Japan was severely damaged by the magnitude 9.0-quake and ensuing tsunami on March 11 that left nearly 21,000 people dead or missing.
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