At least 4 injured as M7.2 quake hits northeastern Japan, traffic disrupted

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 struck northeastern Japan on Thursday, injuring at least four people, disrupting bullet train services and forcing schools to temporarily close.

There was no danger of a tsunami from the 7:30 a.m. quake that occurred off the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 44 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It measured upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Hashikami and lower 6 in Hachinohe, both in Aomori Prefecture.

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.

Local fire departments in Hashikami and Hachinohe said four people, including teenagers and people in their 50s, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

At a press conference, the weather agency urged the public to remain alert for earthquakes measuring upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale over the next week.

The agency said it would not issue an Off the Coast of Hokkaido and Sanriku Subsequent Earthquake Advisory because the temblor did not meet the criteria for activation.

The advisory is issued when there is a relatively high risk of strong earthquakes occurring along the Japan and Chishima trenches, which run off the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan and Hokkaido.

The earthquake was initially reported as having a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 and a depth of 50 kilometres, but those figures were later revised.

The quake logged an 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 neighbouring 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.

According to Hashikami’s school board, all five schools in the town, including elementary, middle and high schools, were temporarily closed. The Hachinohe school board also closed all 65 of its schools.

Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train services were halted between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations after the quake, but all services had resumed as of 2 p.m., JR East said.

Speaking to reporters at her office, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her government is gathering information to assess the impact of the temblor.