The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at 11:23 pm local time (9.23 am ET), was located 45.9 miles (73.9 kilometers) northeast of Namie, a coastal city 60 miles from Fukushima, according to the Service United States Geological Survey.
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan. More than 20,000 people died or disappeared in the earthquake and tsunami, while hundreds of thousands lost their homes.
The earthquake also caused the country’s worst nuclear disaster – three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant melted, releasing radioactive materials into the air and more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the area.
About 830,000 families in the Kanto region, which includes Greater Tokyo, and about 90,000 families in the Tohoku region were left without power after Saturday’s earthquake, Kato added.
Kato also said that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga instructed the government to examine the earthquake’s damage, conduct rescue efforts when necessary and transmit information to the public in a timely manner.