Japan weather officials warn of more temblors after quakes jolt areas near Mt. Fuji, Osaka

2021-12-03 08:35:09 GMT2021-12-03 16:35:09(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

TOKYO, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Weather officials in Japan warned that more tremors could occur within a week, following a magnitude-4.8 earthquake near Mt. Fuji and a magnitude-5.4 earthquake closed to Japan's western city of Osaka on Friday morning.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said there was no threat of a tsunami following the two quakes but warned that a temblor of similar intensity could occur within a week.

In addition, seismologists said it is most likely that the two quakes are unrelated.

According to the agency, the quake near Mt. Fuji occurred at around 6:37 a.m. local time, registering lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Otsuki in the eastern part of Yamanashi Prefecture. The focus of the quake was at a depth of about 19 kilometers.

Earlier, magnitude-4.1 and magnitude-3.6 quakes occurred at 2:18 a.m. and 2:23 a.m. local time, respectively, in the same area.

Meteorological Agency official Shinya Tsukada said at a press conference that "there is no particular change" to volcanic observation data at Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest peak, and the agency did not consider the quakes among those that require special attention because there have been similar types of quakes in the past.

Tsukadas said that the quake was likely caused by the sinking of the Philippine Sea Plate and was a reverse-fault quake in which the earth's crust came under pressure from the northwest and southeast.

The quake close to Osaka occurred at around 9:28 a.m. local time in the prefecture of Wakayama, registering lower 5 on the Japanese scale of 7 in Gobo, and the focus was at a depth of 18 km. Enditem

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