More than 50 aftershocks shake Japan as earthquake kills one

Aftershocks have rattled Japan a day after a powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake left at least one person dead and damaged buildings, emergency services said.

Aftershocks have rattled Japan a day after a powerful magnitude 6.5 earthquake left at least one person dead and damaged buildings, emergency services said, as officials assessed the damage from the quake that injured more than 20 people and shut high-speed train lines.

Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported that a 65-year-old man died when he fell from a ladder during the earthquake that hit the central Ishikawa region mid-afternoon on Friday (May 5) at a depth of 12 km (7 miles).

Approximately 55 aftershocks, some of them strong, hit on Saturday morning, the country’s disaster management agency said, as it warned that heavy rain could trigger landslides in affected areas.

At least 23 people had been injured, the agency said.

Houses and a Shinto shrine were damaged while train services were disrupted, leaving passengers stranded in stations on Friday, which was a public holiday in Japan, part of a run of days off known as “Golden Week” when many people travel for leisure or to visit family.