5.9-magnitude quake strikes Japan

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 struck Japan's southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki and other areas early Sunday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the quake occurred at 12:02 a.m. local time with its focus at a depth of about 30 kms off the Osumi Peninsula, registering lower 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in the city of Nichinan, Xinhua news agency reported.

The temblor measured 4 in the city of Miyazaki on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7 and some other parts of the prefecture and 3 in the nearby prefectures of Ehime, Saga, Kumamoto, Oita and Kagoshima, the JMA said.

The agency did not issue a tsunami warning as a result of the quake and there have been no immediate reports of accidents or injuries as a result of the quake.

No abnormalities were found at Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, the operator Kyushu Electric Power Co. said.