6.1 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Iwate, Japan's Nuclear Facilities Declared Safe

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) stated that an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 shook northeastern Japan on Sunday morning. According to the JMA, the quake occurred at 5:21 a.m. local time, with its epicentre in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of approximately 40 kilometres. The agency did not issue a tsunami warning following the tremor. Shaking registered a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, which ranges up to 7, in several areas of Aomori and Iwate prefectures. Tohoku Electric Power Co. reported no abnormal conditions at the Higashidori Nuclear Power Plant in Aomori Prefecture or at the Onagawa nuclear power plant complex in Miyagi Prefecture. Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. also stated there were no disruptions at the nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Rokkasho, a Pacific coastal village in Aomori Prefecture. This earthquake occurred just days after a magnitude 7.2 quake struck the same region, injuring at least 10 people, disrupting Shinkansen bullet train services, and forcing several schools to temporarily suspend teaching activities. The quake early Thursday was also centred off the coast of Iwate Prefecture at a depth of 44 kilometres, with shaking reaching an upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Hashikami, Aomori Prefecture. At that time, the JMA urged the public to remain alert for potential earthquakes with intensities up to the upper 6 range that could still occur within the following week.