TOKYO
\nA magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Japan on Thursday, the country\u2019s weather agency said, adding that there was no tsunami warning.
\nThere were no immediate reports of major damage. The quake occurred off the northern region of Iwate, with the depth of the epicenter at 50 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
\nOne local woman in the town of Hashikami, where the shaking was strongest, told media that the only damage in her home was a photo frame falling down.
\nFootage on public broadcaster NHK showed regular traffic in Hachinohe city with traffic lights still functioning as normal.
\nJapan is one of the world\u2019s most seismically active countries, sitting on top of four major tectonic plates along the western edge of the Pacific \u201cRing of Fire.\u201d
\nThe archipelago, home to around 125 million people, typically experiences hundreds of jolts every year and accounts for about 18 percent of the world\u2019s earthquakes.
\nThe vast majority are mild, although the damage they cause varies according to their location and the depth below the Earth\u2019s surface at which they strike.
\nIt is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
\nOn April 20 this year, a tremor measuring 7.7 hit the country\u2019s north in Pacific waters off Iwate prefecture. This prompted authorities to issue a special advisory on Monday warning of an increased risk of earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or stronger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TOKYO A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck northern Japan on Thursday, the country\u2019s weather agency said, adding that there was no tsunami warning. There were no immediate reports of major damage. The quake occurred off the northern region of Iwate, with the depth of the epicenter at 50 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. One local […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-553126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n