A magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit near Miyazaki in southwestern Japan.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at 8:48 a.m. local time today and had an epicentre 39 kilometres southeast of Miyazaki, a city of
about 400,000.
The earthquake had a depth of 23 kilometres. Local media said no abnormalities were reported at the nearby Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture. No tsunami warning was issued.