March 19, 2011 - 15:57 AMT
Peninsula in Japan moves 5.3 meters since earthquake

The Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture has moved 5.3 meters and dropped 1.2 meters since the devastating March 11 earthquake, both records for land mass movements in Japan, government data showed Saturday, March 19.

The data provided by the Geospatial Information Authority in Tsukuba showed the peninsula on the Pacific coast moved in an east-south-easterly direction toward the epicentre of the quake that had a magnitude of 9.0.

The quake also triggered land mass movements in many areas ranging from the northeastern region of Tohoku to the Kanto region including Tokyo, the authority said. A point in Yamada in Iwate Prefecture, north of Miyagi, moved 25 centimeters to the east, while a point in Chiba's Choshi, south of Miyagi, moved 17 cm to the east, Kyodo News reported.