Magnitude 7.3 quake hits Japan, tsunami warning issued

Tokyo : An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale Friday jolted the east coast of Honshu island, leading to a tsunami warning for the coastal areas, Xinhua reported.

The quake, which occurred at 5.18 p.m., had a depth of 10 km, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. Earlier, the the US Geological Survey (USGS) had put the origin at a depth of 36 km.

The temblor was followed by a 6.2-magnitude aftershock off the east coast of Honshu, at 08.31 GMT, the USGS said.

According to JMA, the 7.3-magnitude earthquake jolted the east coast of Honshu island, resulting in a tsunami warning for the country’s northeastern coastal areas.

A warning of a two-metre tsunami was issued for the coast of the country’s Miyagi prefecture. Injuries to people and damage to property were not immediately known.

Nearly 16,000 people had been killed in a 7.2 Richter earthquake and a subsequent tsunami that struck Japan March 11 last year.

The Miyagi prefecture had registered the greatest damage in its vicinity.