Eight people were reported injured Thursday after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck off southwestern Japan, but there appeared to be no major damage or tsunami.
The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 11:14 pm (1414 GMT) Wednesday, was located between the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, the US Geological Survey said.
Japan experiences around 1,500 quakes every year. The vast majority are mild and even larger quakes usually cause little damage.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said the Ikata power plant in the area was operating as normal.
“No abnormalities have been detected at the Ikata power plant… and the operation is continuing,” it said.
Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi confirmed there were no tsunami warnings or abnormalities reported at power plants and said authorities were investigating what other damage may have occurred.
There was no report of deaths directly caused by the quake but regional…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
