Two of the strongest earthquakes to strike anywhere on earth this year hit Japan early Friday morning local time but caused little damage, probably because of their depth and distance from shore.
The first, a magnitude 8.0 quake, struck at 4:50 a.m. local time Friday and was followed by a 7.0 magnitude quake at 6:08, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The focus of the first quake was 50 miles offshore south of the small town of Erimo, at the southeast tip Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido, and 21 miles deep. The shaking was strong enough to wake sleepers in Tokyo, 480 miles to the south.