Eight reported injured after Japan quake

TOKYO (AFP) — Eight people were reported injured Thursday after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck off southwestern Japan, but there appeared to be no major damage or tsunami.

The epicenter of the quake, which hit at 11:14 p.m. Wednesday, was located between the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, the US Geological Survey said.

Japan experiences around 1,500 quakes every year. The vast majority are mild and even larger quakes usually cause little damage.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said the Ikata power plant in the area was operating as normal.

“No abnormalities have been detected at the Ikata power plant ... and the operation is continuing,” it said.

Government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi confirmed there were no tsunami warnings or abnormalities reported at power plants and said authorities were investigating what other damage may have occurred.

There was no report of deaths directly caused by the quake but regional governments and media reported at least eight minor injuries.

Oita prefecture said two elderly people fell and suffered minor injuries, while local media reported that there were six other small injuries in the Ehime region.

Police and disaster management officials at the Ehime government could not immediately confirm those reports but said they would soon publish a roundup of relevant information.

Local television reported that public water pipes burst at a dozen points in Uwajima. In Ozu in Ehime prefecture, at least one landslide blocked a road while falling rocks also blocked some roads in Uwajima.

The late-evening quake shocked residents of the area.

“I was about to go to bed when I felt the rumbling and knew a quake was coming. Then I felt the kind of jolt that I’ve never experienced in my life, and it kept shaking for 10 or 20 seconds,” a fisherman from the Ehime region told broadcaster NHK.