Japan is currently assessing the aftermath of a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck late on Tuesday night, causing injuries, minor damage, and a tsunami along its Pacific coast.
Authorities are cautioning residents about the potential for aftershocks as emergency teams evaluate the full extent of the impact.
At least 34 people sustained injuries, with one person seriously hurt, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Public broadcaster NHK reported that most of these injuries were a result of falling objects.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the immediate formation of an emergency task force to assess the damage. "We are putting people’s lives first and doing everything we can," she stated, later reiterating in parliament that "the government would continue its utmost effort and reminded people they have to protect their own lives."
The seismic event, measured at 7.5 magnitude by Japanese authorities and 7.6 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey, occurred around 11.15pm in the Pacific Ocean.
Its epicentre was approximately 80 kilometres off the coast of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main Honshu island, with the USGS indicating a depth of 44 kilometres below the surface.
A tsunami reaching up to 70 centimetres was recorded at Kuji port in Iwate prefecture, just south of Aomori, while other coastal communities in the region experienced waves up to 50 centimetres, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported. NHK also noted that the waves caused damage to several oyster rafts.
The agency lifted all tsunami advisories by 6.30am on Tuesday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said about 800 homes were without electricity and Shinkansen bullet trains and some local lines were suspended in parts of the region in the early hours of Tuesday. East Japan Railway said bullet trains resumed operation in the region later Tuesday.
Power was mostly restored by Tuesday morning, according to the Tohoku Electric Power Co.
About 480 residents sheltered at Hachinohe Air Base and 18 defence helicopters were mobilised for a damage assessment, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said.
About 200 passengers were stranded for the night at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, NHK reported. Part of a domestic terminal building was unusable on Tuesday after parts of its ceiling cracked and fell to the floor, according to the airport operator.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority said about 450 litres of water spilled from a spent fuel cooling area at the Rokkasho fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori, but that its water level remained within the normal range and there was no safety concern. No abnormalities were found at other nuclear power plants and spent fuel storage facilities, the NRA said.
JMA cautioned about possible aftershocks in the coming days. It said there is a slight increase in risk of a magnitude 8-level quake and possible tsunami occurring along Japan's northeastern coast from Chiba, just east of Tokyo, to Hokkaido.
The agency urged residents in 182 municipalities in the area to monitor their emergency preparedness in the coming week, reminding them that the caution is not a prediction of a big one.
Monday's quake occurred just north of the coastal region where the magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami in 2011 killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
“You need to prepare, assuming that a disaster like that could happen again," JMA official Satoshi Harada said.
Smaller aftershocks were continuing on Tuesday. The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 6.6 and later a 5.1 quake in the hours after the initial temblor.
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