At least one person has died and several buildings have collapsed due to a powerful earthquake that shook central Japan this Friday and, despite causing a slight rise in sea level, has not led the authorities to decree the tsunami alert.
The Meteorological Agency has located the epicenter of the earthquake on the Noto peninsula, on the west coast of the country, and has confirmed that it had a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale. The tremors originated at a depth of about 12 kilometers, according to the official report, collected by the Kiodo news agency.
A man has died after falling from a staircase in the city of Suzu, where there have also been several collapses, according to local authorities, who do not rule out that there may be people trapped under the rubble.
The earthquake has also caused cuts in the railway service, although it has not affected the nearest nuclear power plants. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that major aftershocks may occur in the coming days, some with magnitudes greater than 6.
The government has set up an earthquake response center headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Matsuno said. "Prime Minister Kishida has instructed us to do everything in our power for relief and rescue," he added.
"We will take whatever measures are necessary, depending on the damage and the impact," Matsuno said in response to a question about whether the quake would affect Kishida's plans to visit South Korea starting Sunday.
