Powerful earthquake hits off southern coast of Japan

Tokyo: A powerful earthquake struck off Japan’s southern coast on Thursday, triggering a tsunami advisory.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake registered magnitude-7.1 and was centred off the eastern coast of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres.

Broadcaster NHK issued details of the tsunami advisory.Credit: NHK

The quake was felt most strongly in Nichinan city and nearby areas in Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu island.

The quake, which hit at about 4.43pm local time, was strong enough to pry doors open and crack windows, the meteorological agency said.

It issued a tsunami advisory for Miyazaki, Kochi, Ehime, Oita and Kagoshima prefectures – all on Kyushu – and predicted waves of up to 1 metre along the coast of Kyushu and also on the nearby island of Shikoku.

The agency said tsunami waves of up 50 centimetres had been detected along parts of Kyushu’s southern coast and on Shikoku about a half hour after the quake struck.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, the country’s chief cabinet secretary, said officials were assessing possible injuries or serious damage, though none were immediately reported. He urged residents of the affected region to stay away from the coastline.

Seismologists were holding an emergency meeting to analyse whether the quake had affected the nearby Nankai Trough, the source of past devastating earthquakes.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said all 12 nuclear reactors, including three that are currently operating, on Kyushu and Shikoku remained safe.

Earthquakes in areas with nuclear power plants have been a major concern since a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

It said there were reports of broken windows at the Miyazaki airport, near the epicentre.

Japan sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the line of seismic faults encircling the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries.

An earthquake on January 1 in Japan’s north-central region of Noto left more than 240 people dead.

Reuters, AP