Tokyo, Japan A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off the coast of eastern Japan, close to Fukushima, late Saturday evening but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
The epicenter of the quake, which struck at 11.23 p.m. local time (9.23 a.m. ET), was located 45.9 miles (73.9 kilometers) northeast of Namie, a coastal town 60 miles from Fukushima, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The depth of the earthquake was about 36 miles. No tsunami warning has been issued for Saturday’s earthquake.
Tokyo electric power company (TEPCO) was checking the Fukushima nuclear power plants for damage, Japan’s public service broadcaster NHK said.
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Japan. More than 20,000 people died or went missing in the quake and tsunami, while hundreds of thousands more lost their homes.
The earthquake also caused the country’s worst nuclear disaster — three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant melted down, releasing radioactive materials into the air and more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the area.
