Earthquake hits Japan’s Fukushima prefecture

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake has hit the
Japanese prefecture that is home to the
nuclear power plant crippled in the March
2011 quake and tsunami.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake
struck at 2.25am (17.25 GMT) on Friday at a
depth of about 22km under the Fukushima
prefecture, about 177km northeast of Tokyo.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not
issue an alert.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo News
reported that the plant’s operator, Tokyo
Electric Power Co (TEPCO), observed no
abnormality in radiation or equipment after
the earthquake.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday
ordered TEPCO to scrap all six reactors at the
Fukushima Daiichi plant and concentrate on
tackling pressing issues like leaks of
radioactive water.
The 2011 disaster caused three reactors to
melt and damaged a fuel cooling pool at
another.
Officials have acknowledged that radiation-
contaminated groundwater has been seeping
into the Pacific Ocean since soon after the
meltdowns.
The region lies on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of
earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches
around the Pacific Rim.
About 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes
occur in the region.