Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on 11 September sent his sympathy to his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe over the human and property losses caused by a major earthquake and subsequent landslide in Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture on 6 September.

Japan Self-Defence Forces search for missing people after the quake in Hokkaido Prefecture (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)

Also on 11 September, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent his sympathy to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.

At least nine people were killed and about 300 injured by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that struck Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido early 6 September, destroying houses, ripping apart roads and causing a number of massive landslides, including some that buried parts of towns.

The quake also cut power to all 2.95 million homes and a nuclear power plant in the prefecture, causing the cancellation of flights and disrupting train services to the popular tourist destination.

The temblor, which occurred in southern Hokkaido at a depth of about 37 km, registered the highest reading of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Atsuma and upper 6 in Abira, both southeast of Sapporo. No tsunami warning was issued.

Smaller aftershocks continued and the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that earthquakes with a similar intensity could continue in the area for about a week.

The quake is the latest in a series of natural disasters in Japan this year, and came just days after a powerful typhoon roared through western Japan, killing more than 11 people, injuring more than 400 and forcing the temporary shutdown of Kansai International Airport, one of the country's key gateways.

The incident brought back memories of the 2011 quake and subsequent tsunami, which knocked out both the main and emergency power supply at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and caused three reactors to melt down.

(Source: VNA)