News On Japan

At least 4 dead, more than 370 injured in quake

Jun 18, 2018 (NHK) - Monday's major earthquake in western Japan left 4 people dead and more than 370 injured.

The Meteorological Agency is warning it's possible another big earthquake could hit in the coming days.

Agency's official says "Frequent seismic activity is continuing in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture.

Strong tremors could have raised the risk of landslides or building collapse. People in such areas are advised to watch out for further seismic activity and rain."

The earthquake struck before 8 AM in northern Osaka and measured 6.1 in magnitude.

On Japan's seismic intensity scale of zero to seven, it's categorized as a six-minus.

9-year-old Rina Miyake was killed when a wall collapsed while she was on her way to school.

80-year-old Minoru Yasui was also hit by a falling wall in a different area. He was on his way to do volunteer work for a local school.

85-year-old Motochika Goto was killed after a bookshelf fell on him. Many of the injured have been taken to hospital with the biggest number of injuries reported in the prefecture of Osaka.

Authorities are also dealing with damage. Firefighters have put out three house fires in northern Osaka.

Pipes have cracked underneath some roads and ceiling tiles fell in city halls in Osaka, Hyogo and Nara Prefectures as well as at the terminal building of Osaka airport.

Around 1,300 people have fled to evacuation centers set up across Osaka. 100,000 homes are without gas and water outages are being reported in the northern half of Osaka.

Shinkansen bullet train services in the area were suspended for hours for safety checks.

All the service resumed in the afternoon, but there were numerous cancellations and delays.

Local trains have also been affected, stranding thousands of passengers.

Japan's nuclear regulator says no problems have been found with reactors in Fukui Prefecture.

They are located to the north of the quake's epicenter.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved its first annual basic economic and fiscal policy on Tuesday, pledging "responsible and proactive fiscal policy" and envisioning about 370 trillion yen in public- and private-sector investment in strategic industries through fiscal 2040.

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

The rainy season ended in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions on July 20 as strengthening high pressure brought intense heat across Japan, with temperatures forecast to reach 38 C in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, and Kofu.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A police officer fired a warning shot into the air after a 42-year-old woman approached officers while pointing a kitchen knife at them on a street in Eniwa, Hokkaido, on July 17.

A 45-year-old man was arrested early July 20 after allegedly crashing a passenger car into a convenience store in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and walking around the parking lot carrying a kitchen knife and a golf club.

A 42-year-old man was arrested after allegedly driving under the influence and intentionally ramming a motorcycle in Togitsu, Nagasaki Prefecture, leaving its rider seriously injured.

More than a dozen people were injured after a massive rope suddenly snapped during a tug-of-war at a festival in Kitami, Hokkaido, sending participants falling backward onto an asphalt road.

A public housing complex in Aichi Prefecture where about 70% of households are occupied by foreign residents is showing signs of improvement after introducing multilingual communication, foreign-led neighborhood activities and a 3,000-yen fine for residents who skip community cleaning duties.

A fire that broke out at the long-established Echigo Tsurukame sake brewery in a densely populated residential district of Niigata City on July 19 destroyed the brewery and spread to at least six nearby homes, with firefighters still unable to declare the blaze fully extinguished by noon on July 20.

Two people found dead in a collapsed home following a landslide in Ashikaga, Tochigi Prefecture, have been identified as a married couple in their 60s who lived at the property, city officials said.

Bacteria found in excrement on the uniform of a former nurse arrested on suspicion of killing a hospital patient by contaminating his intravenous drip matched bacteria detected in the victim's blood, investigators have found.