Dozens injured after strong quake hits Japan

The quake was also felt in Japan's capital, Tokyo. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said early Sunday that no damage has been found at its Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear plants nor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture.

A strong quake struck off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, on Saturday, just weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the deadly 2011 tsunami.

The epicenter of the quake was off the coast of Fukushima, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of Tokyo.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga headed into his office immediately after reports of the quake, and a crisis centre was set up there.

This struck near the epicentre of a 2011 quake, which triggered a tsunami and killed more than 18,000 people.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake had a magnitude of 7.3, raising it from a preliminary magnitude of 7.1.

In Minami Soma, one of the Fukushima villages evacuated after the nuclear disaster in 2011, NHK, the public broadcaster, reported that severe horizontal shaking lasted for about 30 seconds.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato addressed reporters after midnight and said evaluations were under way.

Some people were taking shelter at evacuation centers, and were being warned to practice social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic. It might have caused light to moderate damage.

"We have received reports that Onagawa nuclear plant and Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant are not showing any abnormality", he added.

Images posted online showed broken glass at a shop and items spilled off the shelves at a supermarket.

"My house in Odaka, Minamisoma city is all messed up", she wrote. VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas.