5.8-magnitude earthquake strikes off Japan’s Aomori coast

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck off Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan on Saturday, the country’s weather agency said.

The temblor occurred at 11:48 am local time off Aomori’s Pacific coast at a depth of 80 km, measuring 4 on Japan’s seven-point seismic intensity scale, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The quake’s epicentre was located at a latitude of 41.3 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east,



reports Xinhua  news agency.

No tsunami advisory was issued.

The quake comes days after another powerful earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture at around 4.27 pm local time on Tuesday, registering the maximum intensity of 7 on Japan’s seismic scale in the worst-hit areas and causing widespread damage across the prefecture.

On Friday, the prefectural government announced that the death toll from the powerful earthquake had risen to 35.