All Pakistanis safe in Japan earthquake, says ambassador

• Pakistani consulate in Tokyo is keeping an eye on situation.
• May Allah (SWT) keep us all in His protection, tweets envoy.
• A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 strikes Japan.

TOKYO: After establishing contacts with the diaspora community following the powerful earthquake, Pakistan's ambassador to Japan Raza Bashir Tarar has confirmed that all the Pakistanis are "safe so far".

“A hotline has been set up for the Pakistanis stuck in trouble,” the envoy said as the earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck Japan on Monday, triggering warnings for residents to evacuate, knocking out power to thousands of homes and disrupting flights and rail services to the affected region, Reuters reported. 

The Pakistan Embassy also asked expatriates living in the quake-hit coastal prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama in Japan to act in accordance with the instructions of the local administration.

The embassy through a tweet apprised that the Japanese government had issued tsunami warnings in Ishikawa, Niigata, Toyama and their adjacent areas after a powerful earthquake struck the country.

“The Pakistani consulate in Tokyo is keeping an eye on the situation. May Allah (SWT) keep us all in His protection. Aa’meen,” the embassy added.

The quake triggered waves of around one metre along parts of the Sea of Japan coast with a larger wave expected, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Authorities are still assessing the extent of the damage and residents need to prepare for any more tremors, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in comments aired on NHK.

"Residents need to stay on alert for further possible quakes and I urge people in areas where tsunamis are expected to evacuate as soon as possible," Kishida said.

Footage aired by NHK showed a building collapsing in a plume of dust in the coastal city of Suzu and residents in Kanazawa city cowering under tables as tremors shook their homes. The quake also jolted buildings in the capital Tokyo on the opposite coast.

More than 36,000 households had lost power in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, utilities provider Hokuriku Electric Power said.

High-speed rail services to Ishikawa have been suspended while telecom operators Softbank and KDDI reported phone and internet service disruptions in Ishikawa and Niigata, according to their websites.

Japanese airline ANA turned back four planes headed to airports in Toyama and Ishikawa midair after the quake, while Japan Airlines cancelled most of the flight services to Niigata and Ishikawa regions for the rest of the day, according to TV Asahi.

Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority said no irregularities have been confirmed at nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan, including five active reactors at Kansai Electric Power’s Ohi and Takahama plants in Fukui Prefecture.

Hokuriku's Shika plant in Ishikawa, which was located the closest to the quake’s epicentre, had already halted its two reactors before the quake for regular inspection and saw no impact from the quake, the agency said.

A huge earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, killing nearly 20,000 people, devastating towns and triggering nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima.