5.2 quake hits Japan’s Fukushima prefecture

NEW YORK—A moderate earthquake has shaken the northeastern Japanese prefecture where the much more massive earthquake and tsunami touched off the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl earlier this year.

The 5.2-magnitude quake struck Fukushima Prefecture overnight just after 2 a.m. local time Wednesday (1700 GMT Tuesday). Its epicenter was on the coast near the town of Iwaki, 115 miles (186 km) north of Tokyo.

Fukushima was severely hit by the quake and tsunami in March that left more than 21,000 people dead or missing.

The Wednesday quake was about 70 miles (120 km south) of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility.

Another 5.3 quake later Wednesday hit 262 miles (423 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo, off the Japan coast.