Quake jolts Japan’s northeast coast, cuts power in Tokyo

TOKYO: A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 jolted Japan’s northeast coast on Wednesday, shaking buildings as far away as Tokyo where it left hundreds of thousands briefly without power.

The tremor hit off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, some 275 kilometres (170 miles) northeast of Tokyo and at a depth of 60 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

While there were no immediate signs or reports of major damage, it revived memories of the devastating quake and tsunami that hit the region 11 years earlier, also in March.

There were some reports of fire, local media said, and a number of people sustained injuries across northeastern Japan, but none of those appeared serious. Large parts of the capital, Tokyo, were plunged into darkness for an hour or more, although power appeared to be largely restored by early on Thursday morning.

Separately, a Shinkansen bullet train derailed with some 100 people on board, although there were no reports of injuries.

There were no abnormalities at the country’s nuclear power plants, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters, adding that he expected power to be largely back within an hour.

Authorities earlier said a fire alarm had been triggered at a turbine at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.