Northeast Japan again shaken by earthquake

TOKYO

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast and east Thursday morning, two days after a stronger temblor caused a small tsunami and the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.

Kyodo News reported that no tsunami warning was issued after the quake struck at a shallow depth off Fukushima prefecture, and was also felt in Tokyo and Aomori and Shizuoka prefectures.

Utility company Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said no abnormalities were detected at its two nuclear power plants near the epicenter, including the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of 2011 damaged four reactors in Fukushima, melting the cores in three of them and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes, most of whom have been able to return.

The quake devastated the coastal areas of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, while the massive tsunami killed more than 18,000 people.

Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active areas. It accounts for around 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

In April, two powerful earthquakes hit southwest Kumamoto Prefecture, leaving at least 49 people dead.