Magnitude-6.6 quake shakes west Japan

TOKYO (AA) – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 shook western Japan, but no tsunami alert was issued Friday afternoon.

Local news agency Kyodo reported that the temblor registered lower 6 on the country’s seismic scale of 1 to 7 in parts of Tottori Prefecture, and resulted in the suspension of service on some bullet train lines.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicenter was located 40.9 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Tottori city at a shallow depth of 6.3 km.

In April, two powerful earthquakes hit southwest Kumamoto Prefecture, leaving at least 49 people dead.

Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active areas. It accounts for around 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

The country’s coastal areas of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures were devastated in the wake of a March 2011 quake. An ensuing massive tsunami killed more than 18,000 people and triggered a nuclear disaster.