Arab News Japan

TOKYO: An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 5 at its epicenter shook the Kanto region at 12:31 on Dec. 12, registering a seismic intensity of 4 in Saitama, Gunma, Ibaraki, and Tochigi Prefectures with no immediate reports of serious damage.

The Japan metrological agency said there are no fears of a tsunami following the earthquake.

Central Tokyo buildings swayed lightly at the scale of 3 shindo of the Japanese scale. Yokohama and Kawasaki cities observed the same scale.

High speed trains in the region, known as Shinkansen, were made to stop temporarily for security checks, Railway companies reported.

The epicenter of the quake was in the Southern Ibaraki prefecture north of Tokyo at a depth of about 50 km. Many earthquakes occur at this location, and an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 4 has just occurred on December.

According to the preliminary analysis by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, it is a reverse fault type with a pressure axis in the northwest-southeast direction, which is a mechanism often seen in this area.

The Tokai No. 2 Nuclear Power Station in Ibaraki Prefecture is currently out of operation and observed no abnormalities, the operating company said.