A 6.0-magnitude earthquake shook eastern Japan on Saturday, injuring more than a dozen people, rattling buildings in the capital and temporarily suspending flights and train services.
There was no danger of tsunami waves, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said.
The earthquake, which struck at 4:35 p.m. (3:35 a.m. ET), was centered about 55 miles underground in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo, the agency said. The quake injured about 16 people throughout the region, including five people who were injured by a falling signboard at a supermarket, Kyodo News agency reported.
The Meteorological Agency gave the quake an initial reading of magnitude 5.7 but later upgraded its strength.
Power supply in eastern Japan was not disrupted, Kyodo reported, citing the Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Tokyo’s main international airport in Narita briefly closed its runways and bullet trains between Tokyo and western coastal areas were also suspended, but air and train services have now resumed, Kyodo said.
Japan sits at the juncture of four tectonic plates, or moving slabs of the earth’s outer crust, and is one of the world’s most quake-prone regions.
A magnitude-5 quake can damage homes and other buildings if it is centered in a heavily populated area. A magnitude-6.8 temblor struck the northern Japanese prefecture of Niigata last October, killing 40 people and injured more than 2,700.
