Japan Hit By Strong Earthquake Just Hours After Celebrating The New Year

A forceful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of southeastern Japan on Sunday, rattling buildings in Tokyo and jolting a nation still recovering from last year’s mega-disaster.

Source: Dateline Zero

New Year’s revelers were in high numbers in Japan, looking forward to 2012 with overflowing optimism. Australia’s Daily Telegraph even reported on a Twitter “meltdown” as over 16,000 Tweets a second are made in Japan as people welcome New Year.

Xinhuanet reported that a great deal of “resolve” was apparent amongst the people of Japan on December 31. This resolve will “spur post-quake recovery” in 2012, the article reported.

The country was rocked in 2011 by a combination of earthquakes, a Tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns. The rest of the year was marked by cleanup and recovery. It’s understandable that the people of Japan are planning on 2012 being the year that they can wrap-up recovery efforts and put it all behind them. Upwards of 20,000 people dead or unaccounted for.

With this in mind, I can only imagine the dread that must have gripped many people when, shortly after welcoming 2012, an earthquake struck.

Thankfully, there have been no reports of injuries or damage, and no danger of a tsunami.

According to The Daily Mail, the quake measured 4 in central Tokyo, Fukushima and their surrounding areas.

It struck 217 miles below the sea surface at 2.28pm (5.27am GMT). “Such a deep jolt is less likely to cause damage than one close to the surface,” the article stated.

Buildings swayed in Tokyo, but did not disrupt the final of the Emperor’s Cup football tournament being played at the National Stadium.

A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power said there were no reports of any irregularities at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plan. Some roads were temporarily closed and high-speed train services in northern Japan were suspended for a short time.

The Hawaii-based US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre has not issued a tsunami.

“Memorable start to New Year — about to greet Emperor and Empress for New Year when Imperial Palace began to shake,” John Roos, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, said in a message on Twitter, according to The Washington Post.