5.2 magnitude quake jolts hokkaido in Japan

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted Hokkaido in Japan at 21:34:32 GMT last night, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter, with a depth of 59.50 km, was initially determined to be at 43.1448 degrees north latitude and 145.7090 degrees east longitude. There was no loss of life or damage to property from the earthquake when reports last came in. In December, a powerful 7.3-magnitude undersea earthquake off the northeast coast had triggered a one-meter-high tsunami. There were no reports of fatalities. In March 2011 a devastating earthquake and tsunami in the same area left some 19,000 people dead or missing and crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant in the world’s worst atomic disaster in 25 years.