6.1-magnitude quake strikes Japan

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck off the eastern coast of Japan's Aomori prefecture on Thursday, the weather agency said here, adding that no tsunami alert was issued.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor strck at 8.46 a.m., and was centred off the coast of Aomori, with its epicentre located at a latitude of 41.0 degrees north and longitude of 143.1 degrees east, Xinhua news agency reported.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km, the agency added.

There have been no reports of major damage or injuries as a result of the offshore quake,.

Japan's nuclear watchdog has not reported any abnormalities at any nuclear power stations in the affected regions.