The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said the tsunami threat had now largely passed.
“Sea level fluctuations may continue along some coasts of Japan over the next few hours,” it said.
The US Geological Survey measured Tuesday’s quake at magnitude 6.9, down from an initial 7.3.
All Japan’s nuclear power plants on the coast threatened by the tsunami are shut down in the wake of the March 2011 disaster, which knocked out Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, spilling radiation into the air and sea.
A spokeswoman for Tokyo Electric Power, known as Tepco, said the cooling system for a storage pool for spent nuclear fuel at the reactor at its Fukushima Daini Plant had been halted. A spokesman said the cooling system had restarted soon after.
No other damage from the quake has been confirmed at any of its power plants, although there have been blackouts in some areas, the spokeswoman said.
Only two reactors are operating in Japan, both in the southwest. Even when in shutdown, nuclear plants need cooling systems operating to keep spent fuel cool.
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:yvorelabomoh.net78.net)
