Magnitude 6.9 quake hits northern Japan, no tsunami warning

A strong offshore earthquake jolted northeastern Japan on Thursday morning, briefly halting bullet train services and sending heavy shaking across several prefectures. Authorities said there was no tsunami threat, easing one of the biggest immediate concerns in a region with a long history of destructive undersea quakes.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 and struck off the Pacific coast of Iwate Prefecture at around 7.30 am local time. The tremor occurred at a depth of about 50 kilometres, a level that can produce powerful surface shaking across a wide area.

The strongest shaking was recorded in parts of Aomori Prefecture. Hashikami registered an upper 6 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, while Hachinohe recorded a lower 6. The scale runs from 0 to 7 and measures how strongly people and structures feel the shaking, rather than the total energy released by the quake.