An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 hit southern Japan late on Tuesday, Japan Meteorological Agency said. However, the authorities said that there was no tsunami threat.
The agency said the quake, which took place at 11:31 p.m. (10.31 a.m. ET), was centered in the Bungo strait connecting the southern main islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, around 40 km deep.
According to the authorities, there were no immediate reports of damage.
Japan is located at the junction of four tectonic plates and it experiences relatively violent quakes every year. Reports show that Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
