The quake was in the area where a magnitude 7.2 quake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.
TV news footage showed that some areas on the island had liquefied, a common effect of strong earthquakes. Japan is among the most quake-prone nations in the world. In March 2011, northeastern Japan was struck with a giant quake and tsunami.
The agency warned there may be aftershocks for about a week.
Source: Japan Earthquake 2013: 6.3 Magnitude Quake Leaves Several Injured by Huffington Post
The quake was centered on Awaji Island, just south of Kobe, at a depth of 15 kilometers (9 miles).
The quake was in the area where a magnitude 7.2 quake killed more than 6,400 people in 1995.
TV news footage showed that some areas on the island had liquefied, a common effect of strong earthquakes. Japan is among the most quake-prone nations in the world. In March 2011, northeastern Japan was struck with a giant quake and tsunami.
The agency warned there may be aftershocks for about a week.
Source: Japan Earthquake 2013: 6.3 Magnitude Quake Leaves Several Injured by Huffington Post
The quake’s epicenter was around 4 miles northwest of Sumoto, said the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake, which had a depth of around 3.3 miles, struck in the Seto Island Sea between the islands of Shikoku and Honshu.
The quake hit at around 5:33 a.m. local Japanese time.
The Kyodo news agency reported that there were no immediate reports of damage to the Ikata nuclear power plant, according to TV NZ.
Source: 6.3 Japan Quake Strikes in Southwest By Jack Phillips, Epoch Times
In March 2011, Japan suffered a massive undersea quake with a magnitude of 9.0, which sent a towering tsunami into the northeast of the country, devastating coastal communities and killing nearly 19,000 people.
It also sparked the world's worst atomic accident in a generation when waves knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Japan turned off its 50 reactors in the wake of the Fukushima disaster but the two at the Oi plant resumed operations due to fears of a power shortage.
Source: Magnitude 6.3 earthquake hits western Japan, 24 injured by zeenews.india.com