Moderate quake hits Japan coast

There was no immediate report of injuries and no danger of a tsunami.

A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 struck off the Pacific Ocean coast of northeastern Japan on Monday, the country's Meteorological Agency said.

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There was no immediate report of injuries and no danger of a tsunami, it said.

The quake hit at 1.15 pm approximately 27 kilometres off the coast of Ibaraki, the agency said.

It was centred about 30 kilometres below the earth's surface, the agency said.

Ibaraki prefecture is approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Tokyo.

Japan sits atop four tectonic plates and is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.