There are no Bulgarians killed or injured in the strong earthquakes that hit Japan Saturday morning. The two consecutive tremors that injured more than 300 people did not hurt the Bulgarians living near the epicenter according to Sofia's embassy in Tokyo.

Officials of the consular service got on phone some of the Bulgarians living in the Miyagi prefecture about 300 km (190 miles) north of Tokyo where the heart of the earthquake was located. All Bulgarian nationals there have escaped injuries.

The children's choir of the Bulgarian National Radio, which is on tour in Japan, was far enough to the south of Japan near the capital city Tokyo when the tremors struck. Thus the young singers were found out of danger.

A strong earthquake hit northeastern Japan on Saturday morning, just hours after an earlier temblor (measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale), injuring people and causing landslides and blackouts.

But there were no reported fatalities from the earthquake, which was centered in Miyagi prefecture and had an estimated magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale. Weaker aftershocks shook the region repeatedly.

Authorities warned that heavy rains the night before raised the risk of more landslides.
About 130,000 homes temporarily lost power and train services in the area were halted, NHK national television said.

The quake affected a swathe of northeast Japan, a mostly rural area with a few large cities and some high-tech firms.