6.7-magnitude earthquake hits Japan’s north-east region, tsunami warning lifted

TOKYO – Japan lifted a tsunami advisory after a 6.7-magnitude quake struck off its northern coast on Dec 12, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) showed on its website.

The quake struck at 11.44am (10.44am Singapore time), days after a bigger, 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the same region.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake hit 130km north-east of the city of Kuji in Iwate prefecture.

The JMA issued an advisory for a possible tsunami of up to 1m, with The Japan News reporting that the tsunami could hit Hokkaido, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures between noon and 1.20pm.

National broadcaster NHK said that there is no tsunami damage expected after the latest quake.

Two 20cm waves had so far been recorded, one in the town of Erimo on the main northern island of Hokkaido at 12.35pm, and another three minutes later in the Aomori region, the agency said.

NHK said there was no obvious change at either of the ports.

The broadcaster also said that the level of shaking was less than that of the bigger tremor late on Dec 8, which knocked items off shelves, tore apart roads, smashed windows and triggered tsunami waves of up to 70cm.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said on Dec 12 there were no immediate signs of abnormalities at the region’s nuclear facilities.

Politician Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, posted on X that he had been on a bullet train to Aomori when it made an emergency stop owing to the quake.

Mr Tamaki said the train car was pitch-black, and urged everyone to be careful.

In a Facebook post on Dec 12, the Singapore Embassy in Tokyo advised Singaporeans in the affected areas to keep away from coasts and river mouths, which could overflow.

They also urged them to continue to evacuate until all advisories are lifted.

“Please monitor the local conditions closely and refer to the following websites for the latest updates and warnings/advisories,” it said.

Earlier on Dec 12, Xinhua reported that a 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit Hokkaido.

After the Dec 8 earthquake, the Japanese government issued a special advisory warning residents across a wide area, from Hokkaido in the north to Chiba, east of Tokyo, to be on alert for an increased possibility of a powerful earthquake hitting again within a week.

The tremor on Dec 12 measured four on Japan’s one-to-seven seismic intensity scale.

Japan sits on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is one of the world’s most seismically active countries.

The archipelago, home to about 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year.

The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and depth below the earth’s surface. REUTERS, AFP