Image of the intensity map showing the location of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on Friday. Photo courtesy of the Japanese Meteorological Agency
May 26 (UPI) — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Friday shook eastern Japan, including Tokyo but officials said there were no threats of a tsunami.
The Japanese Meteorological Agency said the earthquake happened Friday evening, forcing bullet trains in the Hokuriku, Joetsu and Tohoku Shinkansen lines to stop for about 10 minutes because of a temporary blackout, East Japan Railway Co. said.
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The epicenter for the earthquake was pinpointed off the coast of Chiba at a depth of about 31 miles. It was the second sizable quake for the region this month. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake also struck the Chiba Prefecture on May 11.
In that earthquake, at least five people in their 70s or older sustained minor injuries in Chiba and another two were hurt in nearby Kanagawa Prefecture from the shaking of buildings and the damaging of roof tiles.
Japan is part of the so-called Pacific Ocean Ring of Fire, a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes, around the edges of the Pacific Ocean that includes New Zealand, Asia, across the Bering Strait to Alaska and down the U.S. West Coach to South America.
Scientists say that roughly 90% of all earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, and the ring is covered with about 75% of all active volcanoes on Earth.
