News M5.3 earthquake shakes Tokyo and environs

We were out cycling and wouldn't have noticed anything hadn't @Davey contacted me on Line: this morning at 9:08 a.m., a strong earthquake originating in the southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture rocked the Tokyo metropolitan area, sparking concerns of landslides and delaying several train lines.


No injuries were reported, and no tsunami warning was issued following the 5.3-magnitude preliminary earthquake. The quake registered a lower five on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Shimotsuke, Tochigi Prefecture, and Kazo, Saitama Prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency is urging residents in these areas to be cautious of landslides and cliff collapses for about a week. Intensities of 4 were felt in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, and Noda, Chiba Prefecture. Additionally, the quake rattled Tokyo's 23 central wards with an intensity of 3.

East Japan Railway Co. said services were temporarily suspended on the Tohoku Shinkansen, Joetsu Shinkansen and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines. According to Japan Atomic Power Co., no abnormalities were reported at its Tokai Second Nuclear Power Plant in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, which is currently offline. The JMA said the focus of the earthquake was about 50 kilometers deep. It was a reverse-fault type earthquake that struck near the boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Continental Plate.

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We had just started a conference call and it was a good shake it seems. Our customers in Japan paused in that "is this the big one" sense of dread. But it was soon over and we continued on.