According to Japanese officials, a strong earthquake hit Japan for the second straight day today, though there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. A shallow 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan, 167 kilometres from Miyako city, informed the US Geological Survey.
However, there was no threat of a tsunami following the quake which had a depth of 10 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The jolt came a day after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck north-eastern Japan off the coast of Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima.
The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, battered by a massive 2011 tsunami and is currently being decommissioned, has shown no irregularities in radiation levels following the jolt, officials said.
Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year, but rigid building codes and their strict enforcement mean even strong tremors often do little damage.
However, in April, two strong earthquakes hit southern Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture followed by more than 1,700 aftershocks, leaving 50 dead and causing widespread damage.
Another massive undersea quake that occurred in March 2011 sent a tsunami barging into Japan’s northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and sending three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
