Aftershocks hit Japan as death toll tops 9,300

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said quakes did not further damage the Fukushima nuclear plant, which has been in danger of suffering a meltdown.

Japan Ground Self-Defence Force personnel prepare to lay a coffin during a burial ceremony for the March 11 tsunami victims in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on Wednesday. Photo: AP.

A series of aftershocks on Wednesday hit the area on Japan’s north—eastern coast that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, media reports said.

An earthquake registering magnitude 6 struck at 7:12 am (2212 GMT Tuesday).

There was no tsunami warning following the tremor, Kyodo News reported.

Other less powerful tremors followed in Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said quakes did not further damage the Fukushima nuclear plant, which has been in danger of suffering a meltdown.

The confirmed death toll stood at 9,301 at 9 am (0000 GMT) with 13,786 missing, the National Police Agency said.

Police also said they had dispatched 120 officers and 50 patrol cars to Iwate and Fukushima to combat crime there. An extra 63 officers were sent to Miyagi prefecture, where 40 million yen (495,000 dollars) was stolen from a credit union building in Kesennuma that was hit by the tsunami.