The epicenter of the temblor, which occurred at around 6:24 p.m. (0924 GMT), is estimated to be 60 kilometers under sea ground 20 kilometers off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture.

But the earthquake will not trigger strong tide waves along the coast area, according to Japan Meteorological Agency.

Some bullet trains of Japan Railways halted and two major highways were closed. Electricity supply was also cut off in parts of the area due to the quake.

A local television station showed a residential house caught in fire and reported that two persons were besieged inside the house. One person in Miyagi was reported being injured in the quake.

Camera lens also recorded trembles of buildings and glass of broken windows, fallen ornaments in offices and local citizens' consternations.

The Japanese government has set up an emergency headquarters for the quake, and the governor of Miyagi has asked to send the Self-Defense Forces to the quake-hit area.

Number of Injured in Japan's Quake Rises to 78

At least 78 people were injured, including five seriously, after an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale shook the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan on Monday evening.

According to officials from police agencies, so far, there are no reports of death.

The quake, which registered lower 6 on the Japanese intensity scale of 7, also caused East Japan Railway Co. to halt all its Shinkansen bullet trains in the region and a nuclear reactor to automatically shut down, while highways and some airports were also briefly closed.

In Tokyo, where the quake was also strongly felt, all 42 elevators in one of the twin office buildings of the Tokyo metropolitan government stopped for about 20 minutes, leaving some 60 visitors in an observation room 202 meters above the ground.

Three fires occurred respectively at a residential house, at a restaurant near forest and at a power substation in the quake-hit region, which all were put out by now, the police officials said. 　　

Blackouts affected 22,660 residences in Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata City for about 43 minutes.

Landslides were observed in at least two places in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, the officials said.

Due to many people trying to communicate at the same time, NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s mobile phone service became partly inaccessible, while a local television network in Iwate was cut off.

In Tokyo, the government set up a task force soon after the quake occurred around 6:24 p.m. (0924 GMT), while Iwate police and several other local authorities also set up their own task forces.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2003)