Area north of Tokyo hit by magnitude 5.6 quake

An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook buildings in eastern Japan, including the capital Tokyo, on Tuesday but there were no immediate reports of damage.

An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 shook buildings in eastern Japan, including the capital Tokyo, on Tuesday but there were no immediate reports of damage.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant, said it was still checking conditions at the facility.

The earthquake was centered in Ibaraki Prefecture, just northeast of Tokyo, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The depth of the earthquake was 50 kilometres and there was no risk of a tsunami, it added.