7.1 Earthquake Hits Japan's Fukushima, Tsunami Warning Issued

Japan fell silent at 2:46 pm on Monday as people across the country remembered the thousands killed by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake on March 11 and the monster tsunami it created. EPA/BGNES

A new strong aftershock with a magnitude of 7.1 on the Richter scale has jolted Japan a month after the devastating 9.0-earthquake of March 11, 2011.

The earthquake occurred at 5:16 pm local time in eastern Japan.

According to Japan's nuclear safety agency there has been no irregular activity in Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini; all systems are functioning in the Tokai and Onagawa NPPs, Japan's state NHK TV reported.

Japan's meteorological agency has issued a warning of a tsunami as high as 1 meter for the coast of Ibaraki prefecture. A 50-cm tsunami is believed to have arrived at Fukushima. 

Monday's aftershock is the second strongest in Japan after Friday's earthquake of 7.4-magnitude.

More than 13 000 people were killed in Japan in the March 11 earthquake and the ensuing tsumani, and 14 000 are still believed missing.