A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan on Friday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), though no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake occurred at 8:22 p.m. (1122 GMT) in Pacific waters off Miyagi prefecture in northern Japan.
The tremor comes months after a stronger 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the same region in April, which triggered a tsunami alert at the time.
Authorities said no abnormalities were detected at nuclear facilities in Miyagi and Fukushima, located about 125 kilometres from the epicentre, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Rail services were disrupted, with East Japan Railway suspending operations of shinkansen bullet trains following the quake.
Japan, which lies along the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire”, experiences frequent earthquakes and maintains strict building regulations designed to reduce structural damage.
Despite these precautions, the country continues to reflect on the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which killed or left missing about 18,500 people and caused a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant.