An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 has hit east of Tokyo but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no initial reports of damage or troubles at nuclear plants.
High-speed bullet trains serving northern Japan were halted and the two runways at Tokyo's Narita International Airport were closed after the quake yesterday but quickly resumed operations.
No abnormalities were reported at the Tokai No 2 nuclear power plant northeast of Tokyo, which is closed for maintenance, or at Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi and Daini plants.
The earthquake, which caused substantial shaking in Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures east of Tokyo, came just a few hours after a magnitude 6.8 quake jolted northern Japan. A tsunami warning was issued but later lifted.
Just over a year ago, the north-east coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, Japan's strongest on record, and a massive tsunami, triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. Tokyo University Earthquake Research Institute said there has been a five-fold increase in quakes in the Tokyo metropolitan area since then.
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