A magnitude 5.6 earthquake has struck Japan’s Kyushu region, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center said.
The earthquake, which hit the southernmost of the country’s four main islands, was 40 kilometers below the surface of the earth.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the epicenter of the earthquake was on the east coast of the Osum Peninsula, in the southern part of the island.
Japan experiences frequent earthquakes due to its geographical location.
The country lies on the arc of the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partially surround the Pacific basin.
In 2011, the deadly 9.0-magnitude Tohoku earthquake and tsunami killed an estimated 20,000 people and caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.