The US Geological Survey is reporting that another strong earthquake has jolted northeastern Japan, the same region devastated by a massive quake and tsunami in March this year. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The USGS says the magnitude 6.2-quake struck at 3:51 am today and was centred at a depth of 22.1 miles (35.6 kilometres) in the Pacific Ocean, 59 miles (94 kilometres) east of Fukushima prefecture. The epicentre is 175 miles (282 kilometres) northeast of Tokyo.
On Saturday, a 6.4-magnitude quake struck in the same area off the east coast of Honshu.
About 23,000 people died or were left missing across wide swaths of Japan’s northeast coastline after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Another 80,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes because of the radiation threat from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.