TOKYO,Jan.3(Xinhua)--AmajorearthquakeonMondayrockedcentralJapan,promptingconcernsoverthesafetyofnuclearplantsinthequake-affectedregion.Aseriesofstrongtemblors,withamajoroneofpreliminary7.6magnitude,hittheNotoPeninsulainIshikawaprefectureatashallowdepthonMonday.TheJapanMeteorologicalAgencyhasofficiallynameditthe2024NotoPeninsulaEarthquake.Atleast57peoplehavebeenkilledbytheearthquake,accordingtoJapanesepublicbroadcasterNHK,citingofficialsfromtheIshikawaprefecture.FollowingMonday's7.6-magnitudeearthquake,concernsaroseoverJapan'snuclearsafety,whichhasbeenquestionedconstantlysincethe2011earthquakeandtsunamithattriggerednuclearmeltdownsattheFukushimanuclearplant.ThequakeinIshikawaprefecturetriggeredararemajortsunamiwarningandforecastthatwavesofupto5meterscouldstrike,butby10a.m.localtime(0100GMT)onTuesday,allwarningsandadvisorieshadbeenlifted.Japan'sNuclearRegulationAuthority(NRA)confirmednoabnormalitieswerereportedatnuclearpowerplantsalongtheSeaofJapanafterthequake,andnorisesinradiationlevelsweredetectedatthemonitoringpostsintheregion.TokyoElectricPowerCompanyHoldings(TEPCO)'sKashiwazaki-KariwanuclearpowerplantinNiigataPrefecture,whichhassevenshut-downunits,wasalsounaffected,saidtheNRA.TheInternationalAtomicEnergyAgency(IAEA)saiditwasincontactwiththeNRAandhadbeentoldtherewere"noabnormalitiesinnuclearpowerplantswithintheaffectedarea,"addingthattheagencywouldcontinuetomonitorthesituation.HokurikuElectricPowerCompany,operatoroftheShikaplantwhichistheclosesttotheepicenter,saidbothofthetworeactorsattheplanthadbeenofflinesincebeforetheearthquake,notingthattherehadbeensomepoweroutagesandoilleaksfollowingMonday'sjoltbutnoradiationleakage.Japanisoneofthemostearthquake-pronecountriesintheworld.In2011,apowerfulearthquakeandensuingtsunamicausedmultiplemeltdownsattheFukushimanuclearplant.TheFukushimanucleardisasterhastriggeredrisinganti-nuclearsentimentinJapan.JapanesejournalistSatoshiKamataisoneofthedrivingforcesbehindthecampaignofananti-nuclearpetitionthatstartedsoonaftertheMarch2011triplemeltdown."After11years,thegovernmentisnowtryingtoturnbacktheclockonnuclearpower,"KamatasaidinNovember,2022."Whilewewilltemporarilystopthepetitiondrive,wealsowanttospreadtheanti-nuclearmovementbyjoiningforceswiththosepromotingrenewableenergysources.""TheFukushimanucleardisastergreatlychangedthepublic'ssenseofvalues.Peoplehavereflectedonthestructureinwhichtherisksofhostingnuclearpowerplantswereimposedonruralareas,andpower-savingeffortshavealsoprogressed,"saidaneditorialbyTheMainichi,Japan'snationaldailynewspaper."IftheJapanesegovernmentmakeslightofthesechangesandsteerstowardtheutilizationofnuclearenergy,itwillnotgainthepublic'sunderstanding,"theeditorialsaid.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.