TOKYO, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 struck the Hokkaido region in Japan's northernmost prefecture, the Japanese weather agency said Wednesday, but no tsunami warning was issued.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor, which occurred at 10:28 a.m. local time (0128 GMT), was centered in the Kushiro Oki region of Japan's northern prefecture, with its epicenter located at a latitude of 42.7 degrees north and longitude of 144.2 degrees east.
The quake occurred at a depth of 60 km, but no tsunami warning or advisory was issued as a result of the temblor, the weather agency said.
The earthquake logged 3 on Japan's seismic scale which peaks at 7 in some areas in Hokkaido, the JMA added.
There have been no immediate reports of major damage or injuries as a result of the quake, according to local authorities as well as local media accounts.
Japan's nuclear watchdog has not reported any abnormalities at nuclear power plants possibly affected by the quake.
Specifically, Hokkaido's sole Tomari Nuclear Power plant's operator Hokkaido Electric Power Company has not reported any irregularities at the plant which is located in the town of Tomari in Hokkaido's Furuu District. Enditem
