Magnitude 5.3 quake hits off northeastern Japan

Buildings in Tokyo were shaken by the jolt, but there was no threat of a tsunami, Japan Meteorological Agency says

TOKYO: A magnitude 5.3 undersea earthquake struck Japan on Friday off the coast of Ibaraki prefecture, just south of Fukushima, though there were no immediate reports of damages.

The quake struck at about 9:07 pm (1207 GMT) at a depth of some 37 kilometres (23 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

Buildings in Tokyo were shaken by the jolt, but there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, battered by a massive 2011 earthquake-generated tsunami and now undergoing decommissioning, has shown no irregularities in radiation levels, a spokesman for operator Tokyo Electric Power told AFP.

Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year, but rigid building codes and their strict enforcement mean even strong tremors often do little damage.

But the massive undersea quake that hit in March 2011 sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan's northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and sending three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In April, two strong earthquakes hit southern Japan's Kumamoto prefecture followed by more than 1,700 aftershocks, leaving 50 dead and causing widespread damage.