Strong earthquake off Japan’s Fukushima leaves thousands powerless, kills 4
- The magnitude 7.4 tremor took place a week after the 11th anniversary of the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster
- Thousands of homes in Japan’s northeast were still waiting for power while a Shinkansen service was indefinitely suspended after a bullet train derailed
Companies including Toyota and chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp raced to assess the impact, with any supply chain disruption likely to add pressure to strained global output of smartphones, electronics and automobiles.
Wednesday’s quake left a Shinkansen bullet train service indefinitely suspended after it derailed with some 100 people on board, although there were no reports of injuries.
At least one major highway to the region closed for safety checks.
“This one felt different [to the 2011 quake], it was huge. I had to hang on to something to stay upright,” said Aoi Hoshino, who owns a bar in Fukushima and had customers when the quake struck.
One of her customers shrugged off the initial tremors, but when the biggest one hit he stood up and shouted, “This is a big one!” she recalled.
