Japan Earthquake 2014 - A strong quake rocked Tokyo late Monday night and even shook some of the tallest buildings in the area with its 5.6 magnitude, USA Today reports.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Japan earthquake 2014 registered at magnitude 5.6 and it was centered at about two kilometers west/northwest of Iwai, Japan.
The tremor was felt at around 11:28 p.m. ET, noted the same agency. Around the same time, several buildings in Tokyo reportedly shook but no damage was documented afterwards.
"We have not received any reports of damage, injuries or casualties following the earthquake. We are still checking if the quake could result in damage," said an official at the Ibaraki prefectural government.
Despite the good news that the Japan earthquake 2014 didn't cause significant damage in the areas where it hit, bullet train services in Shinkansen were immediately suspended after the quake but were resumed hours later, according to News.com.au.
The 5.6 magnitude Japan earthquake 2014 struck amid the Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament, which is currently being hosted by the country.
Some of the stars of the tournament shared the news on social media, with Luci Safarova tweeting: "Earthquake experience this morning! 5,6 Rychter scale was quite scary! #tokyo #earthquake #scary" to her followers, alongside a link to an Instagram pic she took after the tremor.
Jason Morrison, an Australian radio broadcaster, also tweeted about the grumbling which he felt from a Tokyo high-rise building.
"Staying in high-rise hotel in Tokyo just hit by a quake and they are now broadcasting messages over PA telling people to stay calm," Morrison wrote.
"Tokyo quake: Lifts shutdown in high-rise buildings around where I'm staying as a precaution. Hotel staff say jolt was 'biggest this year,'" Morrison wrote a few minutes later.
Meanwhile, an operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was devastated by a tsunami following a powerful undersea quake in 2011, said that nothing unusual happened in the nuclear plant amid the Japan earthquake 2014.
"There was no abnormality in our monitoring at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following the earthquake. Also, we have not received any reports of damage from the latest quake," spokesman Keisuke Murakami said.
Japan is reportedly hit by about a fifth of the world's powerful quakes each year as it sits at the conjunction of several tectonic plates.
In March 2011, a 9.0 magnitude struck the country, killing 18,000 people and creating what is known as the world's worst nuclear emergency.
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