Tokyo:
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck southwestern Japan late Monday, triggering two small tsunamis in the area, but no damage was reported.
The earthquake struck at a depth of 36 kilometers (22 miles), about 18 kilometers (11 miles) off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture in the Kyushi region, around 9:19 PM (1219 GMT), according to the US Geological Survey.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned of possible tsunami waves of up to one meter (three feet) and urged the public to stay away from coastal waters.
“Tsunami can strike repeatedly. Please do not enter the sea or go near coastal areas,” the JMA said on X.
Two small tsunamis of about 20 centimeters were detected at two ports in the region, the weather bureau said.
Local media reported no immediate injuries; Live television images from the region on public broadcaster NHK showed no visible damage, as well as calm seas, ships in operation and traffic flowing normally.
Located at the top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” Japan is one of the world’s most tectonically active countries.
The archipelago, home to about 125 million people, experiences about 1,500 earthquakes annually and is responsible for about 18 percent of the world’s earthquakes.
The vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies depending on their location and the depth below the Earth’s surface at which they impact.
On New Year’s Day 2024, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula, killing nearly 470 people in Japan’s biggest shake in more than a decade, including many elderly residents in the aftermath.
Last August, the JMA warned that the risk of a ‘megaquake’ was higher than normal after a magnitude 7.1 shock injured 15 people.
That was a particular type of quake known as a subduction megathrust earthquake, which has occurred in pairs in the past and can cause massive tsunamis.
The advisory concerned the Nankai Trough, an 800-kilometer-long submarine trench parallel to Japan’s Pacific coast, between two tectonic plates.
The advice was lifted after a week.
The JMA said Monday it is investigating possible links between the latest earthquake.
Japan has strict building codes to ensure buildings can withstand strong earthquakes, and routinely holds emergency drills to prepare for a major shake.
But the country is haunted by the memory of a massive magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake in northeastern Japan in March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left about 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 tsunami also caused three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant to collapse, causing Japan’s worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
In March 2022, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the coast of Fukushima shook large parts of eastern Japan, killing three people.
The capital Tokyo was destroyed by a huge earthquake just over a century ago, in 1923.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)