A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.0 rocked parts of northeastern Japan at around 4:24 a.m. Tuesday.
The quake registered up to lower 5, the fifth-highest level on Japan's seismic intensity scale, in nine municipalities, including the cities of Hachinohe and Misawa in Aomori Prefecture and the cities of Miyako and Kuji in Iwate Prefecture, according to the Meteorological Agency.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 71 kilometers in the northern part of the coast of Iwate, the agency said. The temblor caused no tsunami.
The quake is believed to have occurred inside the Pacific plate, which is sinking below a landward plate, or near a boundary between the two plates.
The agency called on people to be on alert for temblors of up to around lower 5 seismic intensity for about a week.
Two people have been injured by the quake, according to Aomori Prefecture. A woman in her 70s in Hachinohe and a woman in her 80s in the city of Towada suffered light injuries after they both fell off their beds.
Following the quake, the government set up an information office at the crisis management center of the Prime Minister's Office.