Magnitude 6 earthquake hits Japan, nuclear plants safe

Tokyo

AN earthquake of magnitude 6 hit southern Japan on Thursday, bringing down some buildings and injuring dozens of people, local media reported, but the nuclear regulator reported no problems at power plants.

The quake struck 11 km east of the city of Kumamoto, the US Geological Survey reported. It initially said that the magnitude was 6.2, but revised it down. Japanese public broadcaster NHK said that the quake registered 6.4.