Japan hit by 7.1 magnitude earthquake, tsunami warning issued

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Tuesday at 4:27pm local time (1:27pm Bangladesh time) in the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern main island of Kyushu.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said in a statement that the epicentre was at a depth of 10 kilometres below the sea surface.

As the quake occurred in shallow waters, strong tremors were felt on the surface. The JMA has issued a tsunami warning, stating that waves of up to 3.28 feet could be generated.

The Japanese government has issued earthquake and tsunami warnings for the prefectures of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita and Miyazaki. No casualties or fatalities have been reported so far.

Earlier, on June 25, Japan was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which did not cause any major casualties or significant damage.

Due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, earthquakes are a regular occurrence in Japan. Around 18 percent of the world's earthquakes occur in Japan, which has a population of 125 million.

Source: AFP