A strong earthquake with a maximum intensity of upper 5 on the Japan Meteorological Agency's scale struck Aichi Prefecture at about 1:04 a.m. on the 8th, the agency said. The epicenter was in western Shizuoka Prefecture, at a depth of about 40 kilometers, and the quake was estimated at magnitude 5.7. No tsunami is expected.
The agency issued an emergency earthquake warning — a rapid alert sent to phones and broadcasters seconds after a quake is detected — for the tremor. The strongest shaking, upper 5, was recorded in Chita, Aichi Prefecture.
Shaking of lower 5 was recorded in a string of Aichi cities including Seto, Handa, Kariya, Toyota and Tokai, as well as Miyoshi and Togo in the prefecture and Shinshiro. Lower 5 also hit Ure Village in Nagano Prefecture, Ena in Gifu Prefecture and Hamamatsu's Hamana Ward in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Intensity 4 and 3 across central Japan
Intensity 4 was recorded across much of the Nagoya area, including the Chikusa, Kita, Nishi, Nakamura, Naka, Showa, Mizuho, Atsuta, Minato, Minami, Moriyama, Midori, Meito and Tempaku wards. It also reached Okazaki, Ichinomiya, Kasugai, Hekinan, Anjo, Nishio, Inuyama, Tokoname, Obu, Chiryu, Owariasahi, Toyoake, Nisshin, Kiyosu, Ama and Nagakute, along with a number of towns and villages in the prefecture.
In Nagano Prefecture, intensity 4 was recorded in Iida, Iijima, Nakagawa, Matsukawa, Takamori, Anan, Achi, Neba, Shimojō, Tenryu, Yasuoka, Takagi, Nagiso, Ontake, Okuwa and Kiso. Gifu Prefecture recorded 4 in Tajimi, Nakatsugawa, Shirakawa and Seki, and Shizuoka Prefecture in Hamamatsu's Chuo and Tenryu wards, Iwata, Kakegawa, Fukuroi, Kosai and Shimada. Kiso Misaki in Mie Prefecture also recorded 4.
Intensity 3 reached Nagoya's Higashi and Nakagawa wards, a further group of Aichi cities and towns, and wide areas of Nagano, Gifu, Shizuoka, Mie, Fukui, Yamanashi, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Nara prefectures.
Shaking in a manufacturing belt
The upper 5 reading in Chita and the lower 5 readings around Toyota and Kariya placed the strongest shaking in a corridor of auto and parts plants west and south of Nagoya. The source material gives no reports of damage or injuries.