Japan rocked by 5.4 magnitude earthquake off coast close to Fukushima nuclear plant
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Japan has been rocked by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake which occurred off the coast close to Fukushima nuclear plant.
Earthquake alarms sounded in Tokyo before the country experienced the shaking, according to reports.
The original magnitude was reported to be at least 6.2, before it was revised to 5.9 and later 5.4 by the United States Geological Survey.
Japanese authorities confirmed that there was no tsunami threat.
The earthquake, that had a depth of 50km, was followed by a magnitude 4.7 aftershock.
(Image: www.jma.go.jp)
(Image: www.jma.go.jp)
It occurred off the coast, 17 km north east of Iwaki.
Iawki is just 35 miles (56.5km) south from the now-disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant's reactors went into meltdown after it was struck by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
The tsunami destroyed the automatic generators used for cooling the reactors at the plant.
(Image: The Asahi Shimbun)
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As a result, the reactors overheated leading to three nuclear meltdowns and radioactive waste being released.
Further radiation released into the air then found its way into the water.
No deaths have been directly linked to the disaster, although hundreds more people are expected to die of cancer as a result of radiation over the coming decades.