Magnitude-6.9 quake strikes off Iwate, shakes Tokyo and halts Shinkansen

A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan's Honshu island Thursday, halting Shinkansen services and sending tremors across a wide area. No tsunami threat has been identified so far.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit at around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, with its epicenter off the coast of Iwate Prefecture. The focus was estimated at a depth of about 50 kilometers.

The strongest shaking was recorded in the Sanpachi-Mikita area of Aomori Prefecture, where a seismic intensity of upper 6 was observed on the Japanese scale.

Japan's seismic intensity scale measures the shaking actually felt by people, as distinct from a quake's magnitude. An upper-6 reading indicates violent shaking strong enough to make it difficult to remain standing and can cause unsecured furniture to topple or shift significantly.

NHK said the intense shaking knocked objects off shelves inside homes and offices.

The quake's reach extended far beyond the epicenter — shaking was felt in buildings in Tokyo, more than 700 kilometers away.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said minor sea-level changes were possible along some coastal areas but that there was no risk of tsunami damage.

JR East suspended all Tohoku Shinkansen services between Sendai and Shin-Aomori in both directions for safety inspections following the quake.

The Japanese government activated an earthquake response office at the crisis management center in the prime minister's official residence and launched an emergency assessment of damage.

Seismic activity has been ongoing in northern Japan in recent months. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation as earthquakes of varying magnitudes continue to strike northern Honshu and southern Hokkaido — the region that includes Aomori and Iwate prefectures — following a magnitude-7.4 quake that hit the area in April.