Strong earthquake shakes northern Japan; no tsunami risk

The location of an estimated 6.0-magnitude earthquake is shown in red near Japan on this map from the USGS.

TOKYO -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 struck off northeastern Japan on Wednesday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no risk of tsunami.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake struck at 5:22 a.m. (8:22 GMT) off the Pacific coast of Iwate and Aomori prefectures at a depth of about 30 kilometres (20 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 5.9.

It shook the same region hit by a deadly earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The shaking was felt in Tokyo, 570 kilometres (350 miles) southwest of the epicenter.