THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 18, 2024 at 13:15 JST
The first earthquake to register an intensity of lower 6 on the main western island of Shikoku injured eight people and disrupted traffic but caused no tsunami, authorities said.
The offshore earthquake hit at 11:14 p.m. on April 17 with an estimated magnitude of 6.6.
An intensity of lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 was recorded in the town of Ainan in Ehime Prefecture and the city of Sukumo in Kochi Prefecture, both on Shikoku.
The island had never experienced an earthquake with an intensity of lower 6 or stronger since the current seismic scale was introduced in 1996.
Five people in Ehime Prefecture and one person in Kochi Prefecture were injured, while two were hurt in Oita Prefecture, which is on the southwestern main island of Kyushu.
Shikoku Electric Power Co. said power generation output fell about 2 percent at the No. 3 reactor of the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture.
The utility said no radiation leaks were observed around the plant, and that it will take about a day to inspect and restore the facility.
Shikoku Railway Co. said service on the Yodo Line is expected to be canceled throughout April 18 between Uwajima Station in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kochi Prefecture.
The Uwakai limited express train on the Yosan Line will suspend its runs until around noon on April 18 between Uwajima and Matsuyama stations, both in Ehime Prefecture.
According to the land ministry, traffic has been closed on a section of National Route 197 in Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, due to fallen rocks.
Traffic has been regulated on parts of prefectural roads in Ehime and Kochi prefectures.
The quake’s focus was in the Bungo Channel, which separates Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku and Oita Prefecture on Kyushu.
It is in an area where seismologists have long anticipated a megaquake known as the Nankai Trough earthquake to occur.
However, Japan Meteorological Agency officials told a news conference on April 18 that they do not believe the latest quake has sharply raised the megaquake’s probability.
They said the seismic mechanism was different from the one that is expected to trigger the Nankai Trough earthquake.
The hypocenter of the April 17 quake is estimated to be 39 kilometers deep, indicating it occurred inside the Philippine Sea Plate, which is located deeper than its boundary with the continental plate, JMA officials said.
The megaquake is expected to occur around the boundary between the two plates.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan's Ehime, Kochi prefectures
April 18, 2024
AI picks sites in Shikoku similar to world’s noted sightseeing spots
May 4, 2022
Quakes now shaking island in Kagoshima Prefecture
December 7, 2021
On Shikoku, record number of noisy, low-flight aircraft reported
August 11, 2021
Several injuries reported from M5.2 quake in Chiba Prefecture
May 11, 2023
Tohoku quake kills 3, injures 107, derails bullet train
March 17, 2022
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
Fallen rocks block part of a national road in Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, on April 18 after an earthquake the previous night. (Ikuo Aiba)
