A powerful 6.1 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan about 200 miles east of the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The tremor struck at about 2.30am local time on Thursday (6.30pm UK time on Wednesday).
It had a depth of about 10km and measured 6.1 on the Richter scale, the United States Geological Survey said.
The agency, which tracks natural disasters around the world, said the quake occurred 176 miles southeast from Kamaishi, a city in northern Japan. It was around 200 miles east of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Fewer than 40 reports of people feeling Thursday's quake were registered on the Geological Survey website.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage following the quake.
It comes as Mexico is reeling from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that collapsed buildings and killed at least 225 people.
A magnitude 9 quake struck the north-east coast of Japan in March 2011 and triggered a powerful tsunami.
More than 16,000 people died or went missing in the quake and subsequent tsunami, while hundreds more lost their homes.
It caused the worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl incident as the the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station was hugely damage by the earthquake and tsunami.
The tsunami flooded the emergency generators that were designed to cool the reactors leading to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air explosions and the release of radioactive materials.
Nearly 500,000 people fled the area and a 12.5 mile exclusion zone was set up.
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