TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 struck northeastern Japan on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, the weather agency said.
The 07:30 a.m. quake occurred off the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 50 kilometers. It measured upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hashikami and lower 6 in Hachinohe, both in Aomori Prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
An intensity of upper 6 means it is impossible to remain standing or move without crawling, and most unfixed furniture will move and objects will topple over, according to the agency.
The earthquake logged upper 5 in Sannohe in Aomori Prefecture and in Morioka and other parts of Iwate Prefecture. The temblor also affected Hokkaido and Akita, Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures as well as Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures.
No abnormalities were reported at the Higashidori or Onagawa nuclear power plants, located respectively in Aomori and Miyagi prefectures, or at the Fukushima Daiichi or Daini nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture, according to their operators.
There were also no reports of abnormalities at the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant and the interim spent fuel storage facility in Aomori Prefecture.
Tohoku Shinkansen bullet services were halted between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations after the quake, JR East said.
Speaking to reporters at her office, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her government is gathering information to assess the effect of the temblor and urged people in strongly affected areas to "to remain alert for earthquakes of a similar magnitude."
