Strong earthquake hits central Japan, injuring at least 22

A strong earthquake shook central Japan early yesterday, shattering store windows, causing people to flee buildings and leaving at least 22 people injured, local media said.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency put the quake’s magnitude at 5.7, while the US Geological Survey reported it at magnitude 5.5. Smaller aftershocks were reported.

A wide area near Aichi Prefecture was affected, including the city of Hamamatsu, the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara and nearby prefectures of Yamanashi, where Mount Fuji is located, as well as Gifu.

An employee crouches amid fallen books following a strong earthquake in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, yesterday.

Photo: Kyodo News via AP

Japanese TV footage showed shattered store windows and scattered shards of glass on the streets. A bookstore was left with mounds of books that had flown off the shelves. The injuries included people who fell from stairs while they were trying to flee.

The quake, which struck at 1:04am, was located about 40km below the earth’s surface in Shizuoka Prefecture. Aichi and Shizuoka are neighboring regions. They are far enough from Tokyo that the quake was not felt there. The most violent shaking was felt in Aichi, official seismic assessments showed.

The meteorological agency warned people to brace for possible strong quakes in the coming week, especially the next two to three days.

“Please be on the lookout for mudslides, falling rocks and the possible effects from rainfall,” Ayataka Ebita, an agency official, told reporters.

He said no apparent change was detected so far to the Nankai Trough plate, where scientists say a megaquake can possibly hit.

The Shinkansen bullet trains were running at slower speeds in the affected areas as a precautionary measure. Sometimes quakes can damage the railways the trains run on.