STRONG QUAKE JOLTS CENTRAL JAPAN
A strong earthquake registering 6.9 on the
open-ended Richter scale jolted central and northern Japan, the
Meteorological Agency said, but there were no immediate reports
of injuries or damage.
    An agency statement estimated the epicentre of the quake,
which struck at 9:40 A.M. (0040 GMT), as being under the sea
off Fukushima prefecture, some 240 km north of Tokyo.
    On March 18, a quake also registering 6.9 on the Richter
scale hit south-west Japan, killing two people.
    Earthquakes of force six on the Richter scale are capable
of causing widespread, heavy damage in a populated area.
    The agency issued, but soon cancelled, a tidal-wave warning
for the Pacific coastline of central and northern Japan.
    The Shinkansen bullet train linking Tokyo and northern
Morioka stopped running. Services will be suspended for several
hours while workers check the tracks, railway officials told
Reuters.
    A spokesman for Fukushima police told Reuters they had not
received any damage reports, even from the coastal town of
Onahama, which registered the maximum intensity.
    He described the shaking as very strong.
 REUTER
