Earthquake Strikes Iwate Prefecture in Northern Japan

According to Kyodo cited, the country's Meteorological Agency, the earthquake, which occurred in waters off Iwate's northern coast at a depth of about 12.5 miles, took place at around 14:25 GMT and had a magnitude of 5.5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7.

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The agency said there was no tsunami threat despite the significant magnitude; however, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning. 

Japan's NHK broadcaster cautioned residents that a one-meter-high wave was expected to hit the coast of Iwate prefecture in northern Japan at approximately 23:30 GMT and reported that evacuations had been ordered for towns closest to the Iwate coast.

The earthquake was measured at an approximate depth of 10 kilometers. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no danger of a tsunami across the Pacific.

Tohoku Electric Power Co, which operates the Onagawa and Higashidori nuclear power plants in the neighboring prefectures of Miyagi and Aomori, said there were no irregularities in the facilities after the earthquake.

A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants, said there were no irregularities at the plants, noting that the earthquake was faintly felt in the area. Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd also said there were no malfunctions at its nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities or other plants in Aomori.

Earthquakes are frequent in Japan, a region that constitutes one of the most seismically active areas in the world. About 20% of the world's earthquakes of magnitude six or greater occur in Japan.