TOKYO, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- A strong earthquake jolted Tokyo Saturday and injured seven women when part of a temple wall collapsed on top of them.
The quake measured 5.5 on the Richter scale and rocked buildings for about 30 seconds, the BBC said.
Japan's Meteorological Agency put the epicenter of the quake at about 50 miles below the surface in the Pacific Ocean east of Tokyo.
Aside from the temple collapse, there were no reports of major structural damage and public transport was not seriously affected by the quake.
Japan's emergency services are well prepared to cope with quakes since the country lies at the junction of at least three tectonic plates, the BBC said.
An earthquake in Kobe in 1995 killed more than 6,000 and alerted officials to serious lapses in emergency planning and building design.
Geologists have predicted a massive earthquake will hit the Tokyo area, home to 30 million people.
