6.1-magnitude quake rattles Japan; four wounded

A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale rocked Shimane Prefecture in western Japan on early Monday, injuring four people in one of the hardest-hit areas, local media reported.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor occurred at 1:32 am local time (1632 GMT Sunday), with the epicentre at a latitude of 35.2 degrees north and a longitude of 132.6 degrees east and at a depth of 10 km.

The quake, revised upward from a preliminary magnitude of 5.8, logged upper 5 in the city of Oda in western Shimane and lower 5 in some other areas of the prefecture on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

Xinhua reported quoting local officials that a teenage boy from Oda City who fell from his bed as a result of the quake, was among the injured.

Parts of the city also experienced a power outage and had the water supply cut, causing the local government to call on a Self-Defence Forces unit to provide assistance.

The powerful quake caused some cracks in buildings and roads, local media reported, but all nuclear power stations in the region were functioning as normal and no tsunami warning was issued.