The World : Tokyo Jolted by 6.6 Quake

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted the Tokyo region, killing at least two people, injuring 10 others and causing buildings to sway violently, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of major widespread damage, however. The quake, at 11:08 a.m., rocked northern and central areas of the main Japanese island of Honshu. Its effects were felt mainly in an area roughly bordered by the cities of Tokyo, Niigata and Nagoya. The quake was strongest in Chiba prefecture, just east of Tokyo. A police spokesman there said a woman was killed when a statue fell on her, and another woman died when a stone wall collapsed. The quake’s epicenter was estimated to be in the ocean about 45 miles off the coast of Chiba prefecture.