6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Japan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-23 17:26

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 shook northern Japan on Saturday, injuring several people and rocking buildings hundreds of miles away.

The quake, which struck at 5:56 p.m., was centered in the Niigata prefecture about 12 miles beneath the earth's surface, the Meteorological Agency said. Buildings in Tokyo, 160 miles to the southeast, swayed for nearly a minute.

Authorities received reports that several people were injured by objects that fell from shelves, public broadcaster NHK said. Other media reports said the shaking was so severe in some places that people couldn't keep their feet.

The Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of tsunami, potentially dangerous waves triggered by seismic activity.

The temblor came just days after Japan's deadliest typhoon in more than a decade killed 77 people. More than a dozen others were still missing.

Typhoon Tokage, the record eighth typhoon to hit Japan this year, ripped through the country earlier this week with high waves and rapid mudslides, demolishing homes and flooding dozens of communities in western Japan before losing power and disappearing over the Pacific Ocean.

Japan, which rests atop several tectonic plates, is among the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

A magnitude-6 quake can cause widespread damage in a heavily populated area.

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