The strong earthquake that recently struck Japan, registering a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale, caused the suspension of various transportation systems linking the affected areas along the Sea of Japan.

Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) TV reported today, Tuesday, that the earthquake led to the cancellation of nine flights connecting the prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata, and Yamagata with the cities of Tokyo and Osaka today.

The TV indicated that Japan Airlines announced it will operate four additional flights this afternoon, and two flights between Komatsu Airport in Ishikawa Prefecture and Haneda Airport, in addition to two flights between Niigata Airport and Itami Airport in Osaka.

Meanwhile, East Japan Railway Company stated that the Joetsu Shinkansen fast train line resumed all its operations this afternoon, noting that the Hokuriku Shinkansen train also resumed running from 3:20 PM local time.

On the other hand, the Japanese Ministry of Transportation said today that about 500 people remain stranded at Noto Airport in Ishikawa Prefecture, due to disruptions caused by the recent earthquake that struck the country with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale.

The ministry, as reported by NHK, said these people were stranded due to the destruction that affected roads near the airport because of the strong earthquake, as the airport is located in the heavily affected city of Wajima.

The airport runways suffered several cracks up to 10 centimeters deep and longer than 10 meters, while officials said these runways will remain closed until at least next Thursday, as repair workers cannot access the airport due to the damage to the roads.

Japan's Geospatial Information Authority also reported that the recent earthquake apparently caused a huge shift in tectonic plates on which the Noto area near the earthquake's epicenter is located, pushing the area 1.3 meters westward.

NHK quoted the Authority today, Tuesday, as saying that preliminary figures indicate a westward shift of about one meter in the city of Anamizu and 80 cm in the city of Suzu, and the tectonic plates in the city of Nanao moved 60 cm northwest toward the Sea of Japan coast.

The land appears to have moved about 20 cm northwest in Toyama and Niigata prefectures, and several centimeters of ground shifts were observed in the Kanto Koshin region and other places.