Japan rattled by aftershock on quake anniversary

A powerful aftershock hit Japan exactly one month after a 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami have ravaged the country’s northeast, triggering a brief tsunami alert and forcing the evacuation of workers battling to avert a crisis at a stricken nuclear plant. People in stores scream and run outside, but there were no immediate reports of more damage or injuries A strong new earthquake rattled Japan's northeast Monday just hours after people bowed their heads and wept in ceremonies to mark a month since the tsunami that killed up to 25,000 people and set off a still-unfolding nuclear crisis. The latest quake, the second major aftershock in less than a week, was another jarring reminder of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that spawned the massive wave March 11. People in a large electronics store in Sendai screamed and ran outside and mothers grabbed their children, but there were no immediate reports of more damage or injuries. Authorities in Japan issued a tsunami alert, but later lifted it. The Pacific tsunami warning centre said no widespread alert had been generated. Officials said operations were not endangered at the tsunami-flooded Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, where power was cut by the aftershock but quickly restored. Japan's meteorological agency measured the aftershock at a magnitude of 7.0, but a U.S. monitor said it was 6.6. The epicenter of was just inland and about 160 kilometers north of Tokyo. The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is still leaking radiation after its cooling systems were knocked out by the tsunami, and the government on Monday urged more people living near the plant to leave within a month, citing concerns about long-term health risks from radiation. People who lived within a 20-kilometer radius around the plant already have been evacuated. With workers still far from bringing the plant under control, the bodies of thousands of tsunami victims yet to be found and more than 150,000 people living in shelters, there was little time for reflection on Japan's worst disaster since World War II. People in hard-hit towns gathered for ceremonies at 2:46 p.m., the exact moment of the massive quake a month earlier. "My chest has been ripped open by the suffering and pain that this disaster has caused the people of our prefecture," said Yuhei Sato, the governor of Fukushima, which saw its coastal areas devastated by the tsunami and is home to the damaged plant at the center of the nuclear crisis. "I have no words to express my sorrow." In a devastated coastal neighborhood in the city of Natori, three dozen firemen and soldiers removed their hats and helmets and joined hands atop a small hill that has become a memorial for the dead. Earlier, four monks in pointed hats rang a prayer bell there as they chanted for those killed. The noisy clatter of construction equipment ceased briefly as crane operators stood outside their vehicles and bowed their heads. In the industrial town of Kamaishi, Iwate Gov. Takuya Tasso led a moment of commemoration as a loud siren rang through a high school gymnasium being used as a shelter. He bowed while people who have lived there since the tsunami kneeled on makeshift futons, bowed their heads and clasped their hands. The school's students will return to classes Tuesday even though 129 people are living in their gym. Some, like 16-year-old Keisuke Shirato, wore their baseball uniforms for Monday's ceremony. Shirato's family was not affected by the tsunami, but about half of his teammates lost their homes. "A new school year starts tomorrow," Shirato said. "Hopefully that will help give people hope and allow them to look toward a new start." The quake hit at 5:16pm (0816 GMT), as Prime Minister Naoto Kan prepared to deliver a live address to the nation on Monday to mark one month since Japan's worst quake in recorded history. He postponed the speech and urged emergency workers to do all they could to save lives in the aftermath of the latest quake. The earthquake and tsunami flattened communities along hundreds of kilometers of coastline, causing what the government estimates could be as much as $310 billion in damage. More than 158,000 people are still without electricity and 210,000 have no running water, although some of that is because of the 7.1-magnitude aftershock that rattled the area last Thursday. Adding to the misery is radiation spewing from the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. The 70,000 to 80,000 people who lived within 20 kilometers of the plant must stay away from their homes indefinitely. "We have no future plans. We can't even start to think about it because we don't know how long this will last or how long we will have to stay in these shelters," said Atsushi Yanai, a 55-year-old construction worker. The tsunami spared his home, but he has to live in a shelter anyway because it is in the evacuation zone. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Monday that residents of five more communities, some more than 30 kilometers from the plant, are also being urged to leave because of high levels of radiation. "This is not an emergency measure that people have to evacuate immediately," Edano said. "We have decided this measure based on long-term health risks."