An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 struck the western Chugoku region of Japan on Tuesday, followed by a series of significant aftershocks, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported.
The epicentre was located in eastern Shimane Prefecture, and authorities confirmed there was no tsunami risk.
Chugoku Electric Power, operator of the Shimane Nuclear Power Station about 32 km (20 miles) from the epicentre, stated that operations at its No. 2 unit were continuing as normal. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority reported no irregularities following the quake. The No. 2 unit had restarted in December 2024, marking the first operation of a nuclear reactor in Japan since the post-Fukushima shutdowns of 2011.
The earthquake registered an upper-5 on Japan’s 1–7 seismic intensity scale, strong enough to make movement difficult without support.
Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active countries, experiences around one-fifth of global earthquakes of magnitude 6 or higher.
In response, West Japan Railway temporarily suspended Shinkansen bullet-train operations between Shin-Osaka and Hakata.
