Magnitude 5.7 quake injures dozens in central Japan

A strong 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Japan early Sunday, injuring dozens of people and causing widespread damage, local officials and media reported. The quake occurred at 1:04 am (1604 GMT Saturday) in Shizuoka Prefecture, located west of Tokyo. No tsunami warning was issued, and no deaths were reported. However, the tremor shattered storefront windows, knocked items off shelves, and disrupted train services, particularly affecting regional transport, including the Shinkansen bullet trains.

An emergency official in Aichi Prefecture stated that authorities had received 16 reports of mostly minor injuries. In Shizuoka Prefecture, at least three women, including a woman in her nineties, sought emergency medical care after falling from their beds during the shaking. The Chunichi Shimbun newspaper and Tokai Television separately reported that 24 people were injured across the two regions.

Toyohashi City in Aichi Prefecture witnessed shattered windows of a car dealership, while a large bookstore in Toyota City reported that merchandise had fallen from shelves. The quake's effects were felt even as far west as Osaka, where a foreign resident required hospitalization following a fall from a second-floor apartment. Osaka officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

A separate 4.3-magnitude quake struck the Kumamoto region at 10:53 am (0153 GMT) Sunday, with no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries. The southwestern region is still recovering from a 7.1-magnitude tremor in July that killed 38 people, flattened homes, and left tens of thousands without power. Japan, situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," experiences hundreds of earthquakes annually, haunted by the 2011 9.0-magnitude undersea quake that triggered a devastating tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster.