Magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits Japan

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck southwest Japan on Monday, the country’s meteorological agency said.

The earthquake occurred at 9:19 p.m. local time (3:19 p.m. CET), the statement added.

Tsunami warnings were issued for Miyazaki Prefecture on the southwest island of Kyushu, the epicenter of the quake, as well as neighboring Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku.

Residents in some coastal areas were asked to evacuate their homes as a precaution, while some trains stopped running.

No damage was immediately reported.

Public broadcaster NHK TV said a tsunami with a height of about one meter reached land within 30 minutes of the quake.

A large area of ​​Kyushu was shaken by the earthquake, which struck at a depth of 30 kilometers, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The country frequently experiences earthquakes due to its location along the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of faults and volcanoes in the Pacific basin.

Experts met Monday evening to discuss the latest earthquake, which could be linked to the so-called Nankai Trough.

The term refers to a large area that would occasionally be hit by major earthquakes, such as the one that killed more than 1,300 people in Japan in 1946.

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded occurred in 2011 off the east coast of Japan. More than 18,000 people were killed following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami it triggered in its wake.