Twenty-nine people were injured after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck eastern Japan on Sunday, with strong shaking felt across Tokyo and nearby prefectures. The quake was centred in southern Ibaraki Prefecture and reached a maximum intensity of 5 on Japan’s seismic scale.
Authorities said there was no tsunami threat and warned residents to watch for further strong earthquakes.
Government orders damage checks as trains face delays
In a statement on X, Takaichi said, “Around 2:00 p.m. today, an earthquake with its epicenter in southern Ibaraki Prefecture occurred, and strong shaking with a seismic intensity of up to 5- on the Japanese scale was observed in Tokyo’s 23 wards, Ibaraki Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had set up a contact room at the Prime Minister’s Office crisis management centre and ordered officials to assess damage and provide accurate information to the public. At this time, there is no information regarding human casualties or damage to homes, but we have received reports that confirmation of the damage situation is ongoing.” she added, “As the government, immediately after the earthquake, we established the Prime Minister’s Office Contact Room at the Crisis Management Center in the Prime Minister’s Office, and I have issued instructions for grasping the damage situation, providing timely and accurate information to the public, and other measures, and we are responding accordingly. Officials said there was no tsunami threat from the earthquake.
There is no concern for a tsunami. To those in the areas where the shaking was strong, I ask that you continue to remain vigilant for the possibility of an earthquake of similar magnitude. Residents in areas that experienced strong shaking were urged to remain alert for possible aftershocks of similar strength.
