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The quake hit at 9:42 this morning. 1 person has been reported dead, at least 80 people are injured.

There is much damage - several houses have collapsed.

There was a small tsunami at 11am, but no further tsunami warnings have been issued.

The quake was also a weak 5 across much of Niigata, and a 4 in many areas along the west side of Honshu.

In Kanto mainly 1 and 2 so not much effect was felt.

from tenki.jp

A 52 year old lady was trapped under her roof when it collapsed, she unfortunately died after being taken to hospital. Most other injuries reported have been cuts and broken bones.

Update 1pm: The number of injured has gone up to 90.

The quake was caused by two sides of a fault finally giving way, after being pushed against each other. There has not been a major quake in this area since before the Meiji era. (Although there have been several in nearby Niigata).

There have been several aftershocks since the big quake, and more are expected.

On the positive side - it looks like there are no major fires.

Update 1:15pm: Number of injured now over 110.

The epicentre of the quake was just off the coast of Ishikawa-ken.

Several train services have been halted - the shinkansen to Niigata included. Roads in Ishikawa and close by in Niigata may also be affected by rock falls.

Update 3:15pm: Over 150 people have now been reported injured.

Some screenshots from a TV report:

I need to get one of the aerial shots - they are seriously weird - one house collapsed surrounded by others which almost seem untouched. I’m unsure whether this is because of the construction of the collapsed houses or the pattern of the shaking.