Earthquake Rattles Japan

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude 6.5 struck northeastern Japan late Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The temblor shook buildings in Tokyo and nearby areas, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no danger of a tsunami, according to Japan's meteorological agency.

The quake hit at 8:50 p.m. Wednesday 24 miles below the sea off the coast of Ibaraki prefecture, the agency said. The agency initially measured the quake's magnitude at 6.2.

Runways at Tokyo's Narita airport were temporarily closed but have now reopened, Kyodo News agency said. High-speed train services north of Tokyo were also temporarily suspended but quickly resumed.

A nuclear power plant in Tokaimura near the quake zone had shut down automatically, according to national broadcaster NHK, but there were no reports of a radiation leak.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries because it sits atop four tectonic plates. Since the late 1970s, the government has taken measures to strengthen its monitoring of seismic activity, and to coordinate steps with local governments on how to cope with earthquakes.

Last October a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit northern Japan, killing 40 people and damaging more than 6,000 homes. It was the deadliest to hit Japan since 1995, when a magnitude-7.2 quake killed 6,433 people in the western city of Kobe.