Tokyo : A strong quake shook buildings in Tokyo on Monday, setting off alarms and temporarily bringing the city’s subway system to halt. Scientists said there was no risk of a tsunami from the quake, which had a magnitude of 5.3, according to the US Geological Survey.
The Japan Meteorological Agency earlier put it at 5.6. Both runways at Narita Airport, the main international gateway to Tokyo, were temporarily closed so staff could check for any damage. Neither was affected.
Alarms on mobile phones and in buildings sounded as the quake developed with a series of vertical bounces, as well as a side-to-side shaking. The quake struck at a relatively shallow 35 kilometres, the USGS said, putting its epicentre just 34 kilometres north of the heaving metropolis of Tokyo, one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
National broadcaster NHK reported the effects were felt over a large area around the capital.
However, there were no immediate reports of injuries or any damage, including at any of the shuttered nuclear power stations in the region. A massive 9.0 magnitude quake that struck off the country’s northeast coast in 2011 generated a powerful tsunami that wreaked havoc in a wide area.
Meanwhile, Japanese regulatory authorities and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), owner of the Fukushima nuclear plant, failed to implement adequate safeguards at the plant before the 2011 tsunami despite being aware of the risks, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.
IAEA concluded in its report on the accident — obtained and made public on Monday by Kyodo news agency — that “the Fukushima Daiichi NPP had some weaknesses which were not fully evaluated by a probabilistic safety assessment, as recommended by the IAEA safety standards”.
