6.2 quake strikes off Japan

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, according to USGS data. TEPCO said the quake did not affect the integrity of its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, located relatively close to its epicenter.

The quake struck around 9:43pm GMT on Friday, some 65 km east-northeast of the city of Sendai. The Japan Meteorological Agency measured the quake at the lower magnitude of 5.8.

No tsunami warning was issued by the JMA. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said that “a destructive pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.”

Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc., the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, checked whether the quake had any impact on the facility but did not find any irregularities, Reuters reported citing Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Earlier on Friday, some 23,000 people participated in an annual drill at the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant in Ehime Prefecture, southern Japan, NHK news reported. The emergency exercise drill was based on a scenario in which powerful earthquake strikes the region.

Drawing lessons from the March 2011 tsunami, an exercise in which residents were evacuated by boat was held for the first time at Cape Sada, the broadcaster noted. Employees of the plant run by Shikoku Electric Power Company were joined by representatives of 90 organizations, including central and local governments.