Powerful earthquakes that rocked Japan on Wednesday night left scars on transportation systems and supply chains in northeastern areas, raising concerns over a prolonged impact on the economy.
According to rail operator East Japan Railway, or JR East, a bullet train headed from Tokyo to the northeastern city of Sendai on the Tohoku Shinkansen line derailed about 2 km from Shiraishi Zao Station in Miyagi Prefecture. None of the 78 people on board were injured.
JR East has suspended operations between Nasushiobara in Tochigi Prefecture and Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, and has sharply reduced the number of trains running north from Tokyo to Nasushiobara, as well south from Hokkaido’s Shin-Hakodate Hokuto to Morioka.
