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TOKYO: A strong earthquake has struck central Japan injuring more than 40 people, causing a nuclear power plant to shut down and delaying bullet trains.
The earthquake – the second in two days – measured 6.5 on the Richter scale. It struck shortly after 5am with an epicentre located in the Pacific Ocean around 105 miles south-west of Tokyo.
Residents in the capital were woken in the early hours as buildings swayed and ornaments tumbled off shelves, while television footage showed shop aisles littered with fallen goods.
At least 43 people suffered injuries in the earthquake, mostly caused by falling objects, with two in a serious condition, according to a prefecture government official in Shizuoka.
As many as 9,500 power failures were triggered by the earthquake, while two reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka shut down immediately during the quake with company officials later reporting “no abnormalities”.
Bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka were suspended until safety checks resulted in resumed services several hours after the earthquake, which was followed by at least 13 aftershocks.
The earthquake coincided with the pending arrival of Tropical Storm Etau in the same area with at least 13 people having died in recent flooding and landslides west of the capital.
It took place two days after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurred south of Tokyo, resulting in swaying buildings and tremors in the capital.
Japan, located in a zone where four tectonic plates meet, is home to around 20 per cent of the world’s annual earthquakes.