A 6.3-magnitude earthquake has hit near the south coast of the Japanese island of Honshu, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.
The USGS also reported that the quake struck at 18:31 GMT. The epicentre of the earthquake was located 144 kilometres (about 89 miles) southeast of the city of Shingu, at the depth of 375.8 kilometres.
There was no tsunami warning issued yet.
Earthquakes with magnitudes above 6.0 Richter scale are considered to be strong earthquakes, which can deal damage to a moderate number of structures in populated areas. It is usually felt in up to hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.
Japan is located in a seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire and regularly suffers from powerful earthquakes. The 2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the following tsunami killed over 15,000 people and caused the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.