Strong quake jolts north Japan, 107 hurt

By Chisa Fujioka

HACHINOHE, Japan (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring more than 100 people, trapping hundreds in halted trains and affecting production at some high-tech factories.

The quake, which struck at 00:26 (1526 GMT Wednesday) and had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, was the latest in a series to hit the sparsely populated, mountainous regions of Iwate and Aomori.

A National Police Agency official said 107 people were injured, 16 seriously. Many were hurt in falls or suffered cuts from broken glass.

Officials warned of possible landslides, and hundreds of homes were without running water, broadcaster NHK said.

At Choryuji temple in Hachinohe, about 550 km northeast of Tokyo, one of the worst hit towns, rows of tall gravestones were knocked over and some were broken.

"It's such a shock to see this mess," said 77-year-old Toshikatsu Sawashiro, who came to check his family grave.

A local government building in the same area was also a mass of broken glass, with fallen ceilings and toppled shelves.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.