An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 struck northeastern Japan centering on Iwate Prefecture on Saturday morning, but no tsunami alert was issued, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The 7:42 a.m. quake, which originated off Iwate at a depth of about 50 kilometers, registered an intensity of lower 5 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7 in the city of Miyako, it said.
The quake had smaller impacts in other parts of Iwate and neighboring prefectures, according to the agency.