Tokyo: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 has hit eastern Japan, but no tsunami warning has been issued, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The quake hit at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), 18 km north-northeast of the town of Daigo.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said, adding that no abnormalities were identified at nuclear power plants in the region.
Japan sits at the crossroads of four tectonic plates and encounters a number of almost violent quakes every year. But rigid building systems and strict enforcement mean even strong tremors often do little damage.
A massive undersea tremor that hit in March 2011 gave a tsunami barrelling into Japan’s northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and hurling three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
In April, two powerful quakes hit southern Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture followed by more than 1,700 aftershocks, leaving at least 50 dead and causing widespread damage.
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