Magnitude 6.6 earthquake shakes western Japan, no tsunami

A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 struck western Japan on Friday, toppling shelves and knocking out power to thousands of homes. There was no risk of a tsunami.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake occurred in Tottori, a prefecture on the Sea of Japan about 700 kilometers (430 miles) west of Tokyo. The epicenter was at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

Television footage showed scattered damage: roof tiles knocked loose, wall fragments from a sake brewery fallen to the ground, and wine bottles and food items scattered on a store floor. Japan's public broadcaster NHK said a woman cooking in a restaurant was taken to a hospital after she was splashed with oil.

"It shook quite violently and file cabinets fell down, but luckily nobody was injured in this office," Koji Nakahara, a town hall official in coastal Hokuei, told NHK by telephone.

The earthquake caused temporary blackouts at about 32,000 homes, according to Chubu Electric Power Co., a regional utility.

The meteorological agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the inland temblor.