5.6-magnitude earthquake hits northeastern Japan, no tsunami threat

An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 jolted northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate late Friday, however, there is no threat of a tsunami.

The weather agency and local authorities also informed that there were no immediate reports of major property damage, reported Kyodo News.

The quake occurred at around 11.25pm, logging upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Noda in the prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The agency said the temblor occurred in waters off the prefecture’s northern coast at a depth of 18 kilometres below the seabed. The magnitude of the quake was revised upward later from an initial estimate of 5.5, reported Kyodo News.

On Wednesday, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake rocked north-eastern Japan around the same time, leaving at least three people dead and more than 180 injured.

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It caused widespread power outages, transport disruptions and factory suspensions. It remains unclear whether the two temblors have any connection, reported Kyodo News.

• Asia