M5.6 earthquake hits northeast Japan

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook northeastern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued. The 4:49 p.m. temblor, which originated at a depth of about 50 kilometers off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, registered lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. No problems were observed at nuclear power plants in the areas including the crippled Fukushima Daiichi and idled Fukushima Daini complexes as well as the Onagawa plant in Miyagi, according to their operators. Fukushima was hard hit by the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi complex. Source: Mainichi Image: Tenkijp Share this:TweetEmail