Japan 5.9 Quake Causes Injuries, Outages; No Tsunami

A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Japan early Sunday, centered in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at about 70 kilometers depth, felt across Tokyo and the Kanto region. There was no tsunami threat. Reports on injuries varied, with figures ranging from none immediate to dozens, including people hurt while waking or moving from bed. The quake triggered mobile alerts, prompted a government task force to assess damage, and caused infrastructure disruptions including a water pipe rupture in Tokyo's Koto ward and power outages affecting hundreds of homes before restoration. Public communications showed some facilities operating normally, while NHK footage indicated traffic conditions in several cities and authorities warned of possible aftershocks and ground hazards such as rockfalls. The event follows recent seismic activity history in Japan, including a magnitude 7.1 Kumamoto quake last month, underscoring the country's ongoing vulnerability to earthquakes.