Japan (Rajeev Sharma): A late-night earthquake off Japan’s northern coastline sent shockwaves across multiple prefectures on Monday, injuring dozens and prompting urgent tsunami advisories that remained in place for several hours. The magnitude 7.5 tremor, which hit shortly after 11 p.m., caused widespread alarm as residents fled homes, hotels and coastal areas in the dark.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the quake originated beneath the Pacific seabed roughly 80 kilometers northeast of Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture. Although the tsunami that followed was relatively small—reaching about 70 centimeters in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture—authorities stressed that even low-level surges can pose risks along narrow bays and harbors.
Local hospitals and emergency services reported 23 injuries across northern Honshu, ranging from cuts caused by shattered glass to more serious trauma from falling debris. Public broadcaster NHK reported that several people in a Hachinohe hotel were hurt when ceiling materials collapsed, while a driver in Tohoku sustained minor injuries after his car plunged into a ground opening caused by the shaking.
The strong jolts left shop aisles littered with broken goods, and homes rattling for several seconds. “It felt like the whole building was rolling,” said Satoshi Kato, a high school vice principal in Hachinohe, who rushed to his school—an official evacuation site—thinking residents would arrive seeking shelter. Traffic jams and minor collisions slowed his drive as people hurried away from the coast.
Government spokesperson Minoru Kihara confirmed temporary power outages in parts of Aomori and Iwate and said bullet train operations were suspended as a precaution. Some local rail lines remained halted overnight. Close to 500 people took refuge at the Hachinohe Air Base, where emergency teams were deployed to assess surrounding damage.
Nuclear facilities in the region also initiated safety checks. Regulators said a small amount of water—around 450 liters—spilled inside the Rokkasho fuel reprocessing plant but emphasized there was no danger to the public and system levels remained within safe ranges.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said 18 military helicopters were dispatched before sunrise to survey coastal districts for landslides, flooding, or structural damage. Meanwhile, nearly 200 travelers were stuck at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido after flights were disrupted.
The JMA warned residents that significant aftershocks may follow and highlighted a slightly heightened probability of a larger seismic event along the same northeastern arc that was devastated in 2011 by the catastrophic magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami. Officials urged nearly 200 municipalities to review evacuation routes and readiness plans for the coming week.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced that an emergency response headquarters had been activated. “Our focus is on securing safety and restoring normalcy as quickly as possible,” she said, encouraging communities to remain alert to official messages and be prepared to evacuate immediately if strong shaking returns.
By early Tuesday morning, tsunami advisories were lifted across the affected coastline, though authorities maintained elevated monitoring as a separate magnitude 5.1 quake struck south of Honshu shortly after dawn.
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