Tuesday, August 11, 2009 TOKYO: A strong earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 7.6, jolted eastern and central Japan on Tuesday, a government agency said, rattling houses in Tokyo. The quake, which struck at 0507 a.m. (2007 GMT, Monday), prompted a tsunami warning for waves of up to 50 cm (20 inches) for parts of the Pacific coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its website. A highway was closed and a Chubu Electric Power nuclear power station at Hamaoka shut two units for safety checks. The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) deep under Shizuoka prefecture, around 150 km (90 miles) southwest of Tokyo, the agency said.
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