TOKYO, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture on Wednesday, the weather agency here said, although no tsunami waning was issued.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor, which occurred at 9:35 a.m. local time (0035 GMT), was centered inland with its epicenter at a latitude of 36.4 degrees north and a longitude of 140.6 degrees east, with a depth of 60 km.
The earthquake logged 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7 in some areas of Ibaraki Prefecture and was also felt in some parts of Tochigi and Chiba prefectures.
In Gunma and Saitama prefectures, the quake registered 3 on the seismic scale.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries as a result of the quake.
Japan's nuclear watchdog has not reported any abnormalities at any nuclear power stations in or close to the affected regions. Enditem
