M 6.0 Earthquake Hits Northeastern Japan, No Injuries
By KUNA
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale shook northeastern Japan on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the 4:15 a.m. (0715 GMT) quake.
No tsunami warning was issued.
The quake registered lower 5 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in Hanamaki City in Iwate Prefecture, about 425 km north of Tokyo.
The agency defines an intensity of lower 5 as strong enough to make hanging objects swing violently and most unstable ornaments fall.
The Japanese scale measures how much places were shaken on the surface while the Richter scale measures the energy of the quake itself.
The focus of the tremor was off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture at a depth of about 40 km. Northeastern Japan was already severely damaged on March 11 by a magnitude 9.0-quake and tsunami that left more than 28,000 people dead or missing.
Earlier this week, the weather agency urged people in the region to continue to be alert against powerful aftershocks.