An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 struck Japan’s western coast on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The quake had a shallow depth – with its epicentre in eastern Shimane at a depth of 10 kilometres – striking at around 10:20 a.m. local time (0120 GMT), officials of the agency said, adding that there was no immediate threat of a tsunami.
The quake occurred in the Shimane prefecture in western Japan, with tremors felt in the cities of Matsue and Yasugi and nearby areas in the Tottori prefecture.
In both prefectures, the quake registered an intensity of upper 5 on the Japanese shindo scale of 0 to 7 in the most affected areas.
Officials also confirmed long-period ground shaking recorded in both prefectures, which the meteorological agency has described as “long-period ground motion”.
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Japanese authorities said there was no loss of life reported, nor any injuries or property damage in the aftermath of the quake. However, parts of the Shinkansen bullet train network were temporarily suspended as precaution.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority also reported no abnormalities at the Shimane nuclear power plant.
Officials have advised citizens to remain alert for possible further quakes, especially over the next two to three days. The advisory mentioned there being a possibility of stronger tremors occurring in the coming days, as there have been cases in the past where stronger quakes were preceded by light tremors.
Japan is on the so-called Pacific ring of fire, which is one of the world's most earthquake-prone areas.
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