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Strong quake off Japan
A strong 6.5 magnitude quake struck off southern Japan on Thursday but no destructive tsunami was generated, the US Geological Survey said.
A strong 6.5 magnitude quake struck off southern Japan on Thursday but no destructive tsunami was generated, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake hit at 7.32am (local time) 220 kilometres west of Chichi-shima in the remote Bonin Islands at a deep 520 kilometres, USGS said.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injury.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said "a destructive tsunami was not generated based on earthquake and historical tsunami data."
The Japan Meteorological Agency, which measured the quake at 6.6, also said there was "no tsunami threat by this earthquake."
The remote Pacific archipelago -- known locally as the Ogasawara islands -- was shaken by a 7.4-magnitude quake in December, without any casualties.
The Ogasawara chain, made up of more than 30 subtropical and tropical islets some 240 kilometres north of Iwo Jima, were put under the control of the United States after World War II, and returned to Japan in 1968.
The remote islands have preserved their unique biological habitats and have been dubbed the "Galapagos of the Orient".
Around 20% of the world's most powerful earthquakes strike Japan, which sits on the "Ring of Fire" surrounding the Pacific Ocean.
