On Friday, an earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale hit Ishikawa, a western prefecture of Japan, causing damage to buildings and injuring people. The Chief Cabinet Secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, announced at an emergency press conference that one person was in cardiac arrest due to the earthquake but did not give further details. Matsuno added that there were no reports of abnormalities at the Shika and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plants in the area.
Japan’s weather authorities have revised the quake’s magnitude from a preliminary 6.3 to 6.5 and have warned of aftershocks, although there has been no tsunami warning. According to a meteorological agency official, earthquakes of large magnitude may occur, especially in the next three days, and he urged residents of quake-hit areas to keep watch for about a week in case of further seismic activity with an intensity of 6 or higher on the Japanese scale, which runs to 7.
The government has set up an earthquake response center headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Matsuno stated that Kishida has instructed them to do everything possible for relief and rescue. When asked whether the quake would affect Kishida’s plans to visit South Korea on Sunday, Matsuno said that they would take whatever action was necessary, depending on the damage and impact of the earthquake.