Strong earthquake in northeastern Japan injures 23 people and triggers tsunami

A strong earthquake in northeastern Japan injured 23 people and triggered a tsunami, with waves reaching a height of 70 centimeters in populated areas along the country's Pacific coast, the Associated Press reported, citing local authorities.

One of the injured was seriously injured, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Most of the 23 people were injured by falling objects, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

About 800 households were left without electricity, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said. He noted that inspections are being carried out at nuclear power plants in the area and that no problems have been found so far.

Kihara added that movement on the Shinkansen bullet train network has been suspended. There is also no movement on some regional lines.

The Japanese government announced that the damage from the tsunami and earthquake, which rocked Japan at around 11:15 p.m. local time (4:15 p.m. Bulgarian time), is still being assessed. The epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean, about 80 kilometers off the coast of Aomori.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a brief statement to the media that the government had formed a crisis headquarters to quickly assess the damage.

"We are putting people's lives first and doing everything we can," she said.

Waves of 70 centimeters were measured at Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture, south of Aomori, and waves of 50 centimeters were recorded in coastal settlements.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the magnitude of the earthquake had been reassessed and reduced by a tenth to 7.5. The agency issued a tsunami warning of up to 3 meters in some areas.

Japanese meteorologists also warned of the possibility of aftershocks in the coming days. According to the national meteorological agency, there is a slight increase in the risk of an earthquake with a magnitude of about 8, and a tsunami is expected along the northeastern coast from Chiba (east of Tokyo) to Hokkaido.

The agency urged residents of 182 municipalities in this region to be on disaster preparedness next week.