The Japan Meteorological Agency has canceled an emergency earthquake warning that was issued midday on Friday.
The agency initially issued the warning around 12:40 PM, saying a strong earthquake had been detected. It was estimated to affect numerous regions across northern and central Japan.
But around 12:48 PM, the JMA announced that it was canceling the warning.
The agency said an earthquake did occur near the Kamchatka Peninsula. But in Hokkaido’s Hakodate City, it registered an intensity of 1 on the Japanese seismic scale of 0 to 7 — not strong enough to cause widespread shaking in Japan.
The JMA also says that there is no risk of tsunami.
The agency is currently investigating what happened.
The Japan Railway Company said it temporarily halted Tokaido Shinkansen service between Shin-Yokohama and Toyohashi stations when the alert was triggered.
But it says service resumed at 12:55 PM.
The JMA has apologized for incorrectly issuing an emergency earthquake warning.
One official said they issued a warning that overstated the expected severity of shaking because they overestimated the earthquake’s magnitude.
When asked whether this was due to a cyberattack, the official said no.
AloJapan.com