There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries after the earthquake, whose epicentre had a depth of 40km and which was also felt in Tokyo.
A 6-magnitude earthquake struck off north-eastern Japan’s Fukushima region on Thursday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but no tsunami warning was issued.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries after the earthquake, whose epicentre had a depth of 40km and which was also felt in Tokyo.
The United States Geological Survey put Thursday’s quake at magnitude 6.1, with a depth of 40.1km.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, EMSC, the earthquake was at a depth of 32 kilometres (19.88 miles).
Japan, one of the world’s most tectonically active countries, has strict building standards designed to ensure that structures can withstand even the most powerful earthquakes.
The archipelago, home to around 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 jolts every year, the vast majority of which are mild.
It comes a day after at least nine people were killed and more than 1,000 injured by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan. The 7.4-magnitude quake on April 3 damaged dozens of buildings in Taiwan and prompted tsunami warnings as far as Japan and the Philippines.
Japan’s biggest earthquake on record was a massive 9-magnitude undersea jolt in March 2011 off Japan’s north-east coast, which triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 catastrophe also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst post-war disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
Meanwhile, as of Thursday, at least 40 people were trapped after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan’s east coast, killing nine people and injuring more than 1,000 others.