Magnitude 6.1 earthquake off Japan's Kanto coast felt in Tokyo, no tsunami alert

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck at 19:39 local time on Friday, 6 November, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The epicentre lay at sea off the eastern coast of the Kanto region, which includes Tokyo, at a depth of 10 kilometres. The tremor was felt in Tokyo. The US Geological Survey placed the epicentre about 200 kilometres east of Chiba, a locality east of Tokyo.

Shaking and warnings

The JMA put the shaking at intensity 3 on the Japanese scale, which runs from 0 to 7. According to the agency's description, at that level almost everyone indoors feels the tremor and dishes on shelves may rattle. Reports said intensity 3 was recorded in Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki. The agency did not issue a tsunami warning, but it cautioned that small sea-level changes could occur along the coast.

Damage and context

No damage had been reported in the initial reports. Japan sits on the Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active zones in the world, and experiences tremors fairly often. Its infrastructure is therefore designed specifically to withstand such shaking.