JAKARTA - An earthquake with an initial magnitude of 7.2 shook northeastern Japan on Thursday, injuring four people, disrupting high-speed train services, and forcing schools to close temporarily.
There was no tsunami danger from the 7.30am local time quake that struck off the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 44 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The earthquake reached a magnitude of 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale (scale of 7) in Hashikami and 6 below in Hachinohe, both in Aomori Prefecture.
Intensity 6 means it is impossible to stand or move without crawling, and most non-attached furniture will move as well as objects will collapse, according to the agency.
The local fire departments in Hashikami and Hachinohe said four people, including teenagers and people in their 50s, were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
At a press conference, the weather agency urged people to remain alert for earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale over the next week.
The agency said it would not issue a Subsequent Earthquake Warning on the Hokkaido and Sanriku Coasts because the earthquake did not meet the criteria for activation.
The warning was issued when there was a relatively high risk of strong earthquakes along the Japan Trench and the Chishima Trench, which stretches off the northeast Pacific coast of Japan and Hokkaido.
The earthquake was initially reported to have an initial magnitude of 6.9 and a depth of 50 kilometers, but the numbers were later revised.
The earthquake was recorded at magnitude 5 on the Sannohe in Aomori Prefecture and in Morioka and other parts of Iwate Prefecture. The earthquake also affected Hokkaido and Akita, Fukushima, Miyagi, and Yamagata prefectures as well as Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.
There were no abnormalities reported at the Higashidori or Onagawa nuclear power plants, which are located in Aomori and Miyagi prefectures, respectively, or at the Fukushima Daiichi or Daini nuclear power plants in Fukushima prefecture, according to their operators.
There were also no reports of anomalies at the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant and spent fuel interim storage facility in Aomori prefecture.
According to the Hashikami school board, the five schools in the city, including elementary, middle, and high schools, were temporarily closed. The Hachinohe school board also closed all 65 of its schools.
The Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train service was suspended between Tokyo and Shin-Aomori stations after the quake, but all services had resumed by 1400 local time, JR East said.
Speaking to reporters at her office, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said her government was gathering information to assess the impact of the quake.
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