Japan Earthquake News Update: An earthquake with 6.3-magnitude strength hit southern Japan early today injuring 17 people, reports said. Officials warned residents to be alert to the danger of landslides following the tremor.
According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the earthquake post no tsunami warning or risk.
According to GMA News Online, 17 people were injured. None of the injuries seemed to be life-threatening, Public broadcaster NHK said.
Yohei Hasegawa, director of the Japan Meteorological Agency's earthquake and tsunami observation division, told a news conference, "We fear the danger of rockfalls and landslides has increased" in areas that felt strong tremors."
The epicenter of the quake was located 13 kilometers north of the city of Kunisaki, as per the US Geological Survey. The quake hit at a depth of 82 kilometers.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no risk of a tsunami but urged residents to stay on alert.
As quoted from GMA News Online, "the quake, which the Japanese agency measured as having a preliminary magnitude of 6.2, registered a strong intensity in parts of southwestern Shikoku, the main island of Honshu and southern Kyushu islands.
There were no abnormalities detected at the Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime prefecture or at the Shimane plant in Shimane prefecture."
Japan marks the three-year anniversary of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that ravaged its northeast coast, generating the world's biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 and leading to a global reassessment of atomic energy, CNBC reported.
Entire towns and villages are swept away by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that allowed a 10-meter-high tsunami. The disaster took the lives of nearly 16,000 people.
Reports said that it also devastated the Fukushima nuclear plant north of Tokyo, which went through reactor meltdowns and explosions that spewed radioactive material, forcing more than 150,000 people from their homes.
CNBC cited that today, tens of thousands of people still remain in cramped temporary housing, while others have found shelter in new cities or with relatives.
Meanwhile, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a national push to revive Japan's nuclear energy program, upsetting the public who want the government to pull the plug on nuclear power for good.
