5.7 quake injures dozens in central Japan

Quake strikes west of Tokyo

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan early Sunday, injuring at least two dozen people and shattering storefront windows while temporarily suspending regional train services, though authorities reported no fatalities and issued no tsunami warning. The temblor hit at 1:04 am local time west of Tokyo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Emergency officials in Aichi Prefecture reported 16 mostly minor injuries, while authorities in neighbouring Shizuoka confirmed at least three women sought medical care including a woman in her nineties who fell from her bed. Local media outlets including Chunichi Shimbun and Tokai Television placed the total injury count across both regions at 24, citing shattered car dealership windows in Toyohashi and merchandise falling from shelves at a Toyota city bookstore.

Transport disruptions reported

The quake forced temporary delays and suspensions of regional train services Sunday morning including Shinkansen bullet trains. In Osaka, located approximately 400 kilometers west of the epicentre, a foreign resident was hospitalised after falling from a second-floor apartment when the shaking startled them, local media reported.

Second tremor hits Kumamoto

Separately, a 4.3-magnitude quake struck the Kumamoto region at 10:53 am Sunday, causing no immediate reports of serious damage. The southwestern prefecture continues recovering from a deadly 7.1-magnitude tremor that killed 38 people and flattened homes in July. Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and experiences hundreds of earthquakes annually, remaining haunted by the 9.0-magnitude disaster of 2011 that triggered a tsunami killing approximately 18,500 people and wrecking the Fukushima nuclear plant.