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An earthquake of magnitude 6 struck Japan’s Noda city on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, December 31, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Magnitude, Location and Depth

The USGS said the earthquake occurred about 91 kilometres east of Noda at a depth of 19.3 kilometres. The epicentre was located at coordinates 40.112°N, 142.889°E.

No Immediate Damage Reported

Authorities did not immediately report any damage or loss of life following the tremor. Monitoring agencies continued to assess the situation after the quake.

Earlier Tremor in Tibet

Earlier on New Year’s Eve, an earthquake of magnitude 3.4 struck Tibet in the afternoon, according to the National Center for Seismology (NCS). The quake occurred at around 3.26 pm IST at a depth of 10 kilometres, the NCS said.

Recent Seismic Activity in Japan

The latest quake comes weeks after Japan was hit by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake on December 12. That tremor was centred about 130 kilometres, or 81 miles, from the city of Kuji in Iwate prefecture on Honshu, according to the USGS. Following that event, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory.

Days earlier, on December 8, a stronger earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck the country, triggering a tsunami of up to 50 centimetres along Pacific coast communities, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The tsunami hit the Hokkaido prefecture town of Urakawa and the Aomori prefecture port of Mutsu Ogawara, reportedly injuring several people.

Why Japan Is Prone to Earthquakes

Japan lies atop four major tectonic plates on the western edge of the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, making it one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world. With a population of around 125 million, the country records approximately 1,500 tremors each year.

Most of these earthquakes are mild, though their impact varies depending on the location of the epicentre and the depth at which they occur beneath the Earth’s surface.