Strong quake jolts southwestern Japan islands as officials warn
Officials reported no tsunami after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Okinawa, but Yoron saw its strongest shaking since monitoring began there in 2007.
- A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck southwestern Japan, with the strongest tremors reaching an "upper 5" intensity on an island in Kagoshima Prefecture.
- The quake caused minor damage, such as fallen ceiling panels in a gymnasium and a high school, but no injuries were reported.
- Officials from Japan's meteorological agency have warned residents in the affected areas to remain on guard for potential strong aftershocks for about a week.
A powerful earthquake shook southwestern Japan on Wednesday (May 20), with tremors reaching upper 5, the fourth-highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, on an island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The agency estimated the quake at magnitude 5.9. It struck at around 11.46 am at a depth of about 50 kilometres, offshore from the main island of Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture. No tsunami was generated.
Upper 5 shaking was recorded in the island town of Yoron, while lower 5 intensity was observed in the town of China on Okinoerabu Island. Both are part of the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture.
No injuries had been reported in either Yoron or China as of 4pm. The quake was the strongest to hit Yoron since the agency began monitoring seismic activity there in March 2007.
In Yoron, around 20 ceiling panels fell inside a gymnasium. A section of the ceiling above staircases also came down at a local high school.
After the quake, the Japanese government opened a liaison office at the crisis management centre of the prime minister’s office.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she had instructed the government to determine the scale of the earthquake damage and deliver timely, accurate information to the public.
Ayataka Ebita, director of the agency’s Earthquake and Tsunami Observation Division, told a press conference in Tokyo that areas hit by strong shaking should remain on guard for about a week against possible quakes reaching around upper 5 intensity.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
