The epicentre of the earthquake was located at a depth of 60 kilometres (more than 37 miles) in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the prefecture of Miyagi.

The tremors were felt in the northern and eastern parts of the country, including Tokyo, JMA said. There are no reports about any damages or victims caused by the earthquake. No tsunami alert has been declared.

Despite that, the office of the prime minister created a crisis centre following the earthquake. Railway companies have suspended the train traffic in the prefectures hit by the earthquake to carry out safety checks. The authorities also ordered additional checks at nuclear power plants in the northeastern part of the country.

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.