Quake hits off remote Japanese islands

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale was registered Monday off a group of remote Japanese islands, meteorologists said.

By Mars Daily Editorial Team · Editorial process

Published August 5, 2006

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale was registered Monday off a group of remote Japanese islands, meteorologists said.

The quake, which struck at 1822 GMT Sunday, was initially determined to be centered about 1,140 kilometres (708 miles) south-southeast of Tokyo near the Ogasawara Islands, the Hong Kong observatory said.

The Ogasawaras, also known as the Bonins, are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical islands about 1,000 kilometres due south of Tokyo. Only two of the islands are inhabited.

Japan lies at the junction of four tectonic plates and endures about 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes, frequently jolting Tokyo and other major cities.

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Mars Daily Editorial Team

The Mars Daily Editorial Team produces content across our two editorial pillars: space industry news and Mind & Meaning. We cover launches, missions, satellites, defense, and the technology of getting humans to space, alongside the psychology of ambition, isolation, and meaning under extremes. Articles reflect our team's collective editorial process, source verification, drafting, technical review, and editing, rather than a single writer's work. Mars Daily takes editorial responsibility for content under this byline. For more on how we work, see our editorial policy.