Two strong earthquakes shook northern Japan Thursday, but
neither caused any apparent damage or prompted a tsunami
warning. Japan's Meteorological Agency said a magnitude 6.1
undersea quake struck Thursday evening about 750 kilometers
northeast of Tokyo, near Hokkaido island. A magnitude 6.0
undersea quake struck early Thursday morning, 244 kilometers
northeast of Tokyo. The Japanese television network NHK said the
second tremor left several thousand homes without power. The
quakes did not affect the badly damaged Fukushima nuclear power
plant that was crippled by the massive quake and ensuing tsunami
that struck in March. Japan lies on the so-called "Ring of
Fire," an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches
around the Pacific Rim. About 90 percent of the world's quakes
occur in the region. The March 11 magnitude 9.0 earthquake and
tsunami devastated large parts of Japan's northeastern coast and
left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. The twin disasters
also triggered a nuclear crisis, forcing