M 6.6 quake leaves at least nine injured in western Japan

TOKYO, April 18 (KUNA) -- At least nine people were reported injured as of Thursday after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked a wide area of western Japan late Wednesday, authorities said.
No tsunami warning was issued for the 11:14 p.m. (0214 GMT) quake, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The focus of the temblor was in the Bungo Channel, which separates Ehime and Oita prefectures at a depth of 50 km, the weather agency said. Shikoku Railway Co. said some train services on Shikoku Island were temporarily suspended, but resumed operations on Thursday.
According to Shikoku Electric Power Co., an operator of a nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture, there were no was no major problems at the facilities.
The quake registered lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Ehime and Kochi prefectures, about 750 km southwest of Tokyo. The weather agency defines an intensity of lower 6 as strong enough to most heavy and unbolted furniture moves and falls.
At a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday, a weather agency official warned that quakes of a similar scale could occur in the affected areas in the coming week, urging the residents to remain on guard against possible seismic activities. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, accounting for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude six or greater. (end) mk.rk