Workers at Japanese supplier association, JAPIA, say the component body headquarters in Tokyo shook for around two minutes as today’s (7 December) earthquake struck right at the start of the city’s weekend rush hour. 

A seismic shock measuring 7.3 apparently provoked a 1m high wave to break at reportedly the same area as the enormous 2011 tsunami that killed almost 20,000 people, with the earthquake effect rippling all the way to the Japanese capital.

Japanese television pictures are captioned ‘Tsunami Warning Advisory,’ while it also seems citizens are being kept in touch with the earthquake’s developments by statements to their mobile phones.

“I felt a big shake in the JAPIA building – it lasted for maybe two minutes – it is very long,” a worker in the supplier association told just-auto from Tokyo. “The building is OK.

“The desks were shaking, but the books and PCs have not fallen down. I heard the trains are still delayed. Rush hour has ended, but lot of delays.”

The JAPIA employee said the earthquake struck in Tokyo at 17:18 local time, with no reported damage to buildings in the Japanese capital, but the event occurred right at the start of the city’s rush hour to begin the weekend.

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The JAPIA worker added he was not aware of any of the component body’s members being affected by the earthquake.

At this year’s Paris Motor Show, JAPIA managing director, Takehide Takahashi, told just-auto as a result of the previous devastating earthquake, almost all nuclear power stations had stopped operating with no plans to revive the controversial energy source in the future.

Takahashi added Japanese citizens had been asked to reduce electricity consumption this summer, including moderate use of air conditioning, but there had been no power cuts.

The JAPIA chief said citizens had even been encouraged to wear casual clothes in a bid to cut down on energy consumption.

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