Strong Earthquake Rocks near Tokyo; Saitama and Tochigi Prefectures Observe Lower 5 Quake on Japan’s Seismic Scale of 7 (UPDATE 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

9:23 JST, March 21, 2024 (updated at 9:40 JST)

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 jolted the Kanto region just after 9 a.m. Thursday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The quake’s epicenter was in Ibaraki Prefecture at a depth of about 50 kilometers, according to the agency. The temblor registered lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Shimotsuke, southern Tochigi Prefecture, and Kazo, northern Saitama Prefecture, and 4 in northern Ibaraki Prefecture, southern Ibaraki Prefecture, southern Gunma Prefecture, southern Saitama Prefecture and northwestern Chiba Prefecture, and 3 in Tokyo.

There was no risk of a tsunami after the quake, the agency said. The quake struck at about 9:08 a.m.