M6.5 quake hits Fukushima, no impact on nuclear plant+

TOKYO, July 31 Kyodo -
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 jolted Fukushima Prefecture and its vicinity early Sunday morning, but it did not cause further trouble at the already crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
No tsunami warning was issued in the wake of the 3:54 a.m. quake, which measured upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Naraha and Kawauchi in Fukushima and lower 5 in several other parts of the prefecture as well as in parts of Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The focus of the quake, which is believed to be an aftershock of the March 11 killer quake, was off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture at a depth of about 57 kilometers, according to the agency.
An agency official told a press conference, ''Aftershock activity still continues, with magnitude 4-level aftershocks occurring almost every day. Concerns over magnitude 6 to 7-level aftershock occurrences still remain.''
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, at least seven people -- four in Ibaraki Prefecture, two in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, and one in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture -- sustained injuries due to the latest quake.