6.8 sea quake shakes Tokyo, but causes no damage

Associated Press

Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 | 10:15 p.m.

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck under the sea south of Japan on Sunday, shaking buildings in the capital but causing no apparent damage or tsunami.

The quake struck near the uninhabited island of Torishima in the Pacific Ocean, about 370 miles south of Tokyo, and its epicenter was about 370 kilometers (230 miles) below the sea, the Meterological Agency said. It did not generate a tsunami.

Buildings in the Tokyo area shook, but no damage or injuries were reported. Express trains in northern and central Japan were suspended temporarily for safety checks but later resumed. CNN reports that the U.S. Geological Survey gave the quake a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 before downgrading it to 6.8.

No abnormalities were reported at power plants, including the crippled nuclear power plant in northeast Japan hit by the March earthquake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK reported.

A massive earthquake and tsunami March 11 left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. Japan, which lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is one of the world's most seismically active countries.