A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck near the Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:13 p.m. Thursday, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Authorities said there was no risk of a tsunami and there have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The strongest shaking was recorded on Akuseki Island, where the tremor measured lower 6 on Japan's seven-point shindo seismic intensity scale. A level 3 quake was also reported on Kodakara Island within the same island chain.
The quake's epicenter was located off the coast between the two islands at a depth of about 20 kilometers.
The government has set up a crisis management center at the Prime Minister’s Office in response to the magnitude 5.5 earthquake Thursday afternoon.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said in a news conference Thursday evening that all residents on the Akuseki Island has been confirmed safe with no reports of damages to infrastructure and utilities so far. But he added that it will continue to be in close contact with local municipalities.
"We ask local residents to be on alert for an earthquake with a shindo 6 or higher," Hayashi said.
Genichiro Kubo, the mayor of Toshima Village in Kagoshima Prefecture, announced during an online meeting of the prefectural disaster response headquarters that they plan to transport residents who wish to evacuate off Akuseki island and are ready to do so to the city of Kagoshima by ship tomorrow, NHK said.
NHK said that the first group will depart from Naze Port on Amami Oshima Island, approximately 120 kilometers south of Akuseki island, at 2 a.m. on Friday, and will be evacuated via a village-operated ferry heading to Kagoshima Port. The ferry is scheduled to stop at the seven inhabited islands of Toshima Village en route to Kagoshima Port. After arriving at Kagoshima Port tomorrow night, evacuees will be accommodated at lodging facilities arranged by the village.
As of Thursday, the Tokara Islands have recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since the burst of seismic activity first began on June 21. According to the agency, several more earthquakes measuring shindo 1 occurred shortly after the shindo lower 6 quake was registered.
While the area is known to be quake-prone, the series of earthquakes this time marks the highest number recorded since 1995. In 2023, 346 quakes registering shindo 1 or above were recorded in September. Before that, in December 2021, 308 jolts were logged including a magnitude 6.1 earthquake on Akuseki Island that registered upper 5 on the shindo scale.
The combined population of all seven inhabited Tokara Islands was 668 as of June 30, according to the Toshima village hall website.
Isamu Sakamoto, the head of a community association on Akuseki Island, told The Japan Times on Wednesday that residents had agreed to evacuate their homes to a school on the island in the event of any earthquake measuring shindo upper 5 or above.
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