The ministry based its report on a report from the Thai consul general in Osaka.

The 5.8-magnitude quake hit Osaka at 7.58am local time, the height of rush hour in the city of around 2 million people. The shaking lasted about 20 seconds. The tremor’s centre was in Kyoto prefecture.

Train service was suspended and schools closed.

Any Thais in need of the assistance can contact the consul general’s office at +819074885672 or  +819018950987.

Local media reported that three people were killed in the quake in Osaka, including a nineyearold girl. Public broadcaster NHK said an 80-year-old man had been killed by a collapsing wall and another man trapped under a bookcase in his home. In addition to the three deaths, the government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 91 people were injured.

Meanwhile, Thai International Airways reported that about 100 passengers of its TG 673 flight were unable to check in on time to board the flight following the quake, after transportation services were suspended in Osaka.

The airline facilitated the group by providing them a replacement afternoon flight without charging additional fees.

Any passengers needing help could contact the airline’s branch office at 0970064015.

Meanwhile the Facebook page “Thai Students’ Association in Japan under the Royal Patronage” has issued a warning for Thais in Japan about possible aftershocks in the following days. The post advised people to be well prepared with water, food and other necessities, to avoid sleeping near shelves and to identify the locations of shelters near their places.

Television images showed buildings swaying and burst pipes spewing water after the quake.

However, there was no largescale destruction and no tsunami warning issued after the earthquake, although commuters were stranded and tens of thousands were left without power.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the government was “working united, with its first priority on saving people’s lives”.

And government spokesman Yoshihide Suga cautioned that “there is a possibility that strong aftershocks will happen”.

“Largescale quakes are likely to happen in the next two to three days,” he told reporters.

Japan sits on the socalled Pacific “Ring of Fire” where a large proportion of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

On March 11, 2011 a devastating magnitude 9.0 quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

It also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since the Ukraine’s Chernobyl in 1986.

The official launch took place after Ma arrived at the building accompanied by Chinese ambassador Bai Tian.

Ma was greeted by a crowd of office staff from the same building.

“We are not from Alibaba. We saw the news that he will be here today. So we are here to see Jack Ma during our lunch break,” said an excited person from a nearby office.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng will also be here for the opening ceremony of Alibaba KL office.

Ma met Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad earlier on Monday (June 18) in Putrajaya and said he was surprised at the Prime Minister’s knowledge about technology.

He said that during the one-hour meeting, they shared a lot of ideas and discussed how to lift more Malaysians out of poverty and support more young people and small businesses.

Ma was in Malaysia last November to attend the groundbreaking launch of DFTZ with former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

DFTZ, which was launched by the previous administration, is an e-hub set up by the Alibaba Group and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

The project is expected to double the goods exported by small and medium enterprises, create 60,000 jobs locally and facilitate US$ 65bil worth of traded goods by 2025.

The earthquake occurred at the northern part of Osaka prefecture at a depth of 14 kilometers at 7:58 am local time, according to authorities as quoted by KJRI Osaka on its official Instagram account @kjriosaka.

No Indonesians were reported to be injured as of 10 a.m. but the disaster killed two and injured 10 others.

KJRI Osaka further said the Japanese government had issued a notice for the possibility of another earthquake that could be stronger in the coming days.

“All Indonesians in Osaka and surrounding areas are requested to stay calm but alert while monitoring and following local authorities’ directions,” it said on Monday morning.

For any emergency situation, it said, the office had opened a hotline on +81-80 3113-1003, which is available for phone calls, SMS messaging, WhatsApp and Line chat messaging.

The prince, who suffered two broken legs among other injuries, was airlifted from Don Muang International Airport, to Bangkok Hospital, as his injuries were serious, a source said.

The accident, which occurred when a taxi swerved into the incoming lane and collided head on with Prince Ranariddh’s vehicle on national road 4 in Ou’ Oknha Heng commune on the way to Sinhankville, killed his wife, Ouk Phalla. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but died shortly afterwards.

The same source said that the prince, who was a coprime minister with Prime Minister Hun Sen, arrived at Bangkok Airport at about 1am today and because of his serious condition was airlifted to the hospital rather than taken by ambulance.

Khmer Times quoted Yim Savy, Funcinpec secretary general, as saying that the Prince Ranariddh would be sent abroad for medical treatment.

The prince’s driver, a taxi driver and four passengers also sustained injuries, police said.

The prince and his wife were going to attend an election campaign rally in Sihanoukville for the upcoming national election on July 29.

Funcinpec Party spokesman, Nhep Bunchin said the body of the prince’s wife, Ouk Phalla, will be kept for a funeral at Botum pagoda in Phnom Penh.

Phalla, the 39yearold mother of two sons, stood for a lawmaker candidate in Prey Veng province for the upcoming national election.

Television images showed buildings swaying and burst pipes spewing water after the quake, which struck at the height of rush hour in the city of around two million people.

However, there was no large-scale destruction and no tsunami warning issued after the earthquake, although commuters were stranded and tens of thousands were left without power.

Among the casualties was a nine-year-old girl who died in the city of Takatsuki, north of Osaka city, reportedly trapped by a collapsed wall following the 5.3-magnitude quake.

Public broadcaster NHK said an 80-year-old man had also been killed by a collapsing wall and another man trapped under a bookcase in his home.

In addition to the three deaths, the government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said at least 91 people were injured.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the government was “working united, with its first priority on saving people’s lives”.

And government spokesman Yoshihide Suga cautioned “there is a possibility that strong aftershocks will happen”.

“Large-scale quakes are likely to happen in the next two to three days,” he told reporters.

Japan sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” where a large proportion of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating magnitude 9.0 quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

It also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

– ‘Strong vertical jolt’-

Local residents described the moment the quake jolted the highly urbanised area at 8:00 am, when platforms would have been heaving with passengers waiting to board their commuter trains.

“The floor moved violently. It was a strong vertical jolt. Nearly all of the dishes fell and shattered on the floor,” said Kaori Iwakiri, a 50-year-old nurse in Moriguchi, just north of Osaka city.

“My parents suffered a blackout and they have no water. I plan to take water to them now.”

Despite its relatively low magnitude, the quake caused quite a shake, registering a lower six on the Japanese experiential scale of up to seven, meaning it is hard to stay standing.

Eiji Shibuya, 52, said the tremor reminded him of the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake, which killed nearly 6,500 people.

“I was stunned. I couldn’t do anything,” he told AFP from Itami, a city in eastern Osaka region.

“I was worried about my son as he had just left for his high school. I was relieved when I confirmed he was safe.”

NHK showed footage of firefighters tackling a blaze that ripped through a home north of Osaka.

A number of train services were suspended, including the “shinkansen” bullet train, as multiple smaller aftershocks followed the quake.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it had detected no problems at its local atomic power plants, but some companies, including Honda, said they had suspended operations at local plants.

Kansai Electric said on its website that around 170,000 homes in the Osaka region were briefly without power.

“There are fears that the risk of house collapses and landslides has increased in the areas shaken strongly,” said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring quakes at the meteorological agency.//AFP

Bernama posted a short video clip of their meeting, which is taking place behind closed doors, on its Twitter page.

Ma is believed to have held an informal meeting with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on Sunday (June 17) night.

The meeting had generated a certain amount of positivity against a backdrop of unfavourable contracts signed between China companies and the previous Barisan Nasional government, said sources.

Ma is in Kuala Lumpur to open an Alibaba office in Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur today (June 18).

Ma is one of China’s prominent businessmen, and among the first, to have met a high-ranking official from the Pakatan Harapan Government.

Public broadcaster NHK and private station TV Asahi both reported “several” deaths, with the Kyodo news agency saying a nine-year-old girl had been trapped by a damaged wall in a swimming facility north of Osaka city.

Local police said they could not confirm the reports.

A strong quake hit western Japan early Monday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or risk of tsunami waves, officials said.

The 5.3-magnitude quake struck at a depth of 15.4 kilometres (10 miles) at 7:58 am (2258 GMT Sunday) near Osaka, according to the United States Geological Survey.

There was no risk of tsunami from the tremor, the Japanese meteorological agency said, putting its magnitude at 5.9, and the epicentre at a depth of 10 kilometres.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters the government was “working united, with its first priority on saving people’s lives.”

Abe said he had instructed his staff to “swiftly collect information on damage, make utmost efforts in rescuing and saving lives… (and) provide timely and appropriate information to the public.”

Local police also told AFP that they had not received reports of substantial damage, and the Nuclear Regulation Authority said it had detected no abnormalities at its facilities after the quake.

The tremor caused a blackout for thousands of houses and suspended train operations during the morning commuting hours.

Private broadcaster TV Asahi showed firefighters responding to a blaze that broke out after the quake at a house north of Osaka city.

Television footage also showed a “shinkansen” bullet train stopped on the railway.

The quake registered a lower six on the Japanese Shindo scale of up to seven, meaning it is hard to stay standing.

Pictures posted on Twitter showed signs at a train station that had fallen down and books thrown off shelves at a store.

The “zero-tolerance” border security policy implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration has sparked outrage on both sides of the political aisle and took on particular resonance as America celebrated Father’s Day.

Trump has said he wants the separations to end, but continues to blame opposition Democrats for the crisis, which critics say is one of his own making.

His wife, who does not often wade into the political arena, did not denounce his administration’s policy, but instead called for bipartisan immigration reform to fix the issue.

“Mrs Trump hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together to achieve successful immigration reform,” her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told CNN.

“She believes we need to be a country that follows all laws, but also a country that governs with heart.”

Immigration is one of the most divisive, hot-button crises plaguing the Trump administration.

During one recent six-week period, the government said nearly 2,000 minors were separated from their parents or adult guardians — a figure that only stoked the firestorm.

The number of separations has jumped since early May, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that all migrants illegally crossing the US border with Mexico would be arrested, regardless of whether the adults were seeking asylum.

Since children cannot be sent to the facilities where their parents are held, they are separated.

Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans have said the policy must end.

“What the administration has decided to do is to separate children from their parents to try to send a message that if you cross the border with children, your children are going to be ripped away from you,” Senator Susan Collins told CBS television’s “Face the Nation” news program.

“That’s traumatizing to the children who are innocent victims, and it is contrary to our values in this country.”

Amid deep divisions, congressional Republicans have struggled to craft a viable immigration plan.

The Republican-led House of Representatives may vote this week on two immigration measures — a hardline bill and a compromise measure that would limit legal immigration while also ending family separations.

After touring a processing center in McAllen, Texas on Sunday, a group of Democratic lawmakers warned of the “irreparable harm” caused by the separations, repeating a phrase used by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“This new policy of the Trump administration… is undermining the founding values of this country,” said Representative David Cicilline.

“We saw the fear in the eyes of these children who are wondering when they will see their parent ever again. It’s a disgrace, it’s shameful and it’s un-American.”

The accident occurred around 10 am on Sunday when a taxi car swerved off and collided head on with Prince Ranariddh’s car along national road 4 in Prey Nop district’s Ou’ Chamna commune, according to Major General Chuon Narin, Preah Sihanouk police chief.

“He [Prince Ranariddh] suffered injury and is receiving treatment at a hospital in Sihanoukville,” Maj Gen Narin said.

Maj Gen Narin said that Prince Ranariddh’s wife Ouk Phalla died around 12:20 pm in the province’s hospital due to her serious injury, Khmer Times reported.

Prince Ranariddh’s driver, a taxi driver and four passengers also sustained injuries, he said.

Suon Kimsong, deputy Prey Nop district police chief, said that an SUV Highlander which was travelling from Preah Sihanouk province to Phnom Penh hit Prince Ranariddh’s BMW X3 on Sunday. Police said that now Prince Ranariddh is transferred to a Phnom Penh hospital.

In April 2015, Prince Ranariddh and his wife were also involved in a car accident with a truck in Kampong Cham province’s Prey Chhor district.