An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 struck Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, stopping rail services and triggering warnings for tsunamis and aftershocks.
Companies including Sony and TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, have plants in the area of the quake.
A Sony spokesperson said the company was checking the situation. TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake warnings for Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, and Miyazaki prefectures, all on Japan’s southern Kyushu island. A tsunami warning for a wave measuring one metre was issued after the earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
However, the alert was removed on the agency’s website just under two hours after the quake when no tsunami activity was observed.
“This earthquake occurred inland, and no tsunami activity has been observed so far. For this reason, we hope to lift the tsunami advisory at a relatively early stage, depending on future sea level conditions,” a Japan Meteorological Agency spokesperson said.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that several injuries, collapsed buildings and fires had been reported after the earthquake.
“We are still assessing the extent of injuries and property damage, but I have been informed that there have already been several injuries,” Takaichi said.
“Power outages and fires are happening in some areas, and roads and bridges have been damaged and buildings collapsed,” she said.
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes. Located along the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20 per cent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or more.
A massive earthquake in Kumamoto 10 years ago killed 275 people and injured a further 2,739, according to an official count.
Kyushu Electric Power said about 40,000 homes had lost power as a result of the quake, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had suspended services, including its high-speed bullet trains.
There were no irregularities reported at the nuclear power stations in the area, Japan’s nuclear regulation authority said.
