NHK is reporting a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit western Japan on Wednesday night. Officials say there was no tsunami. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa says several people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The quake struck at around 11:14 p.m. on Wednesday. The Meteorological Agency says the focus was 39 kilometers deep.
Agency officials say the tremor measured an intensity of lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of 0 to 7 in parts of Ehime and Kochi prefectures, and lower 5 in parts of Oita Prefecture.
The agency says that this is the first time since 1996, when the current seismic intensity scale was introduced, that a quake with an intensity of lower 6 or higher has hit Ehime and Kochi prefectures.
