The temblor struck at 1003 GMT with a magnitude of 6.2,
according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It shook buildings
in Tokyo as well as surrounding prefectures, but there were no
immediate reports of major damage.
The epicentre was near Chiba prefecture, to the east of Tokyo,
at a depth of 50 km (31 miles).
Footage from NHK showed buildings shaking near the Narita
International Airport in Chiba. Airport authorities were
checking for damage to its runways, NHK said.
East Japan Railway Co said it was suspending some train services
in Chiba prefecture.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most
seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about one-fifth of
the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude
9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a
massive tsunami. Those events triggered the world's worst
nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.
NHK said that Tokyo Electric Power Co was checking for signs of
damage at its nuclear reactors in Fukushima, the site of a
meltdown in the 2011 disaster.
(Reporting by Rocky Swift, Mariko Katsumura, Anton Bridge,
editing by David Dolan and Kim Coghill)
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