Roundup: Japan's Kanto region rocked by quake, experts foresee more seismic activities

The Kanto region in eastern Japan was rocked by a powerful earthquake on Monday afternoon, with its epicenter located just outside of the nation's capital in the northern part of Saitama Prefecture, halting flights and bullet train services.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the 5.5- magnitude quake struck at 2:28 p.m. local time (0528 GMT) at a depth of 56 km, with the trembler being felt all across the region, particularly in the neighboring prefectures Tokyo, Ibaraki, Chiba and Kanagawa.

The earthquake measured a lower 5 on Japan's seismic scale, which peaks at 7, with the JMA warning the intensity of the quake could cause glass to shatter and fall from buildings, structural damage to older buildings, cracks to occur in concrete buildings and possibly in roads.

But while no significant damage or injuries have been reported thus far, emergency services were heard consistently being deployed immediately after the quake in central Tokyo, particularly along Route 246, which is one of the capital's main arterial roads.

Narita International Airport, located just outside Tokyo, suspended operations of two runways for emergency inspections, while multiple Shinkansen bullet train services were halted due to power outages, officials from various operators from within both East and West of the Japan Railways Group said.

According to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), no abnormalities were detected at any of the nation's nuclear facilities close to the epicenter in Ibaraki Prefecture, or at the still-stricken Fukushima Daiichi facility, which was central to multiple meltdowns following a a colossal tsunami triggered by a 9. 0-magnitude megathrust earthquake in March 2011.

Seismologists believed that since the 2011 quake and due to other seismic activity in the Pacific region, the likelihood is that further quake and volcanic activity is imminent in Japan, particularly along the Median Tectonic Line (MTL).

The MTL is the longest tectonic line in Japan. The 1000-km tectonic line runs east to west, from eastern Kyushu to southwestern Honshu, and also curves to the northeast in central Honshu.

Multiple fault lines in Japan, including the Izu Trench which hosts a chain of more than 100 volcanoes on its seabed, have also shown signs of more activity recently, confirming Japan as the most seismically active region in the world, with an earthquake occurring every five minutes, according to the JMA.

The Izu Trench aside, Japan is home to 110 active volcanoes, with up to three currently under warning from the JMA for the public to avoid due to increased activity recently. Last September Mount Ontake, which straddles Nagano and Gifu prefectures and lies west of Tokyo, erupted without warning, killing more than 60 hikers.

Mount Hakone in the popular hot spring resort town near Mount Fuji, is also currently on a level-2 alert due to increased activity recently.

Japan's iconic Mount Fuji itself, the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 meters near Tokyo, is also an active stratovolcano. While it hasn't erupted since 1707, it is under scrutiny by the JMA and other authorities for potential activity forthwith, with visitors and hikers to the popular World Heritage site being advised to wear helmets, dust masks and goggles when climbing.

But Sakurajima, located off Kyushu, is the volcano which is garnering the most attention and is widely regarded as one of the world's most active volcanoes.

Authorities have said recently that the current activity along the Izu Trench, combined with the current volcanic activity on the mainland, as well as a recent 15 meter upheaval of land out of the sea in Northern Hokkaido, are all "reasonable" indications of an " imminent event." Endi