A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck northeastern Chiba Prefecture just after midnight on Thursday local time, shaking Tokyo and neighbouring prefectures, The Japan Times reports.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake hit at 12.07am at a depth of about 50 kilometres, centred on the town of Yokoshibahikari. It registered lower 5 on Japan's seven-level shindo scale of shaking intensity, and no tsunami warning was issued.
The government set up an information liaison office at the Prime Minister's Office four minutes later to gather information and assess any damage, according to the public broadcaster NHK.
Source: The Japan Times
