Magnitude 7.6 Quake Strikes Japan

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Monday, triggering a tsunami of up to 16 inches in coastal communities in the region, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. The agency said the quake struck just east of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main Honshu island, and just south of Hokkaido island. It said a tsunami of 16 inches struck the Hokkaido prefecture town of Urakawa and the Aomori prefecture port of Mutsu Ogawara, reports the AP. After the quake, which struck around 11:15pm local time and was first reported as 7.2 magnitude, the country issued a warning for a tsunami that could reach about 10 feet, notes Reuters.

Several people were injured at a hotel in the Aomori town of Hachinohe, public broadcaster NHK reported. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in brief comment to reporters, said the government set up an emergency task force to urgently assess the extent of damage. "We are putting people's lives first and doing everything we can," she said. Nuclear power plants in the region were conducting safety checks, NHK reported, and thousands were without power, notes Sky News. The quake struck in the same region as the 2011 earthquake that caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.