Strong quakes hit Japan

TOKYO (AP) — A series of earthquakes rattled Tokyo and northeastern Japan on Wednesday evening but caused no apparent damage or injury in the same region hit by last year's devastating tsunami.



A 6.8 magnitude earthquake first struck the southern coast of the island of Hokkaido, causing a small tsunami.



The Meteorological Agency issued tsunami advisories along the northern coast, prompting some communities to issue evacuation advisories to residents near the coast.



A swelling of 20 centimeters or 8 inches was observed in the port of Hachinohe in Aomori about an hour later, with smaller changes reported elsewhere. The agency lifted all tsunami advisories within about 90 minutes.



About three hours later, a 6.1 magnitude quake shook buildings in the capital. It was centered just off the coast of Chiba, east of Tokyo, at a rather shallow 10 kilometers or 6 miles below the sea surface.



Narita International Airport briefly closed runways for inspection but later resumed operation. Several local train services were suspended for safety checks.



There were no abnormalities reported at nuclear power plants after the two earthquakes, operators said.



Most of Japan's nuclear plants are offline for safety inspections.



This past Sunday, Japan marked the first anniversary of the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that left some 19,000 people dead or missing, wreaked widespread damage along the northeastern coast, and triggered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.



Rebuilding has yet to fully begin in many coastal communities.