The earthquake struck at 1.04am in Shizuoka Prefecture, situated west of Tokyo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. No tsunami warning was put in place following the shake.
While authorities confirmed no deaths, the tremor caused widespread disruption. Storefront windows shattered, items tumbled off shop shelves, and transport services were thrown off track.
Injuries across regions
In Aichi, an emergency official told AFP they had logged 16 reports of mostly minor injuries. Next door in Shizuoka, authorities noted that at least three women required emergency medical attention, including a woman in her nineties who hurt her shoulder tumbling out of bed.
Local outlets Chunichi Shimbun and Tokai Television reported that at least 24 people sustained injuries across the two areas. Out in Osaka, local media said a foreign resident fell from a second-floor flat and went to hospital after being startled by the tremor.
Broken glass and disrupted trains
Damage cropped up in several towns. Car dealership windows were shattered in Toyohashi city, while items fell from shelves at a large bookstore in Toyota city.
Sunday morning commuters also faced temporary suspensions and delays on regional train lines, including the famous Shinkansen bullet trains.
Later in the day at 10.53am, another tremor with a 4.3 magnitude hit the Kumamoto region. The Meteorological Agency reported no immediate signs of fresh damage or injuries from that second quake.
