The first tremor with the 6.1 magnitude occurred at 02:44 GMT near the prefecture of Miyagi and was felt in 17 neighbouring regions. The epicentre of the earthquake was located at a depth of 40 kilometres (about 25 miles).
After the main earthquake, three aftershocks with the magnitudes of 4.1, 4.2 and 5.0 were recorded in the same area.
📈 Strong mag. 6.1(6.3) earthquake - Near East Coast of Honshu, Japan on Saturday, 12 September 2020 02:44 UTC https://t.co/Yf0FOS4wzj
— SpaceByEli (@SpaceByEli) September 12, 2020
No tsunami alert has been declared. There is also no information about any damages and victims caused by the earthquake.
Japan is located in a seismically active zone known as the Ring of Fire and regularly suffers from powerful earthquakes. The 2011 9.0 magnitude earthquake and the following tsunami killed over 15,000 people and caused the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.