Earthquake jangles nerves across Japan

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck Japan's southern Ibaraki prefecture on Tuesday, with no reports of major damage or injuries, authorities said.

According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the temblor hit Kutsukake, Bando city, about 50 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, with the epicenter located at a latitude of 36.1 degrees north and longitude of 139.9 degrees east.

The quake hit at 8:33 am local time, when most people were awake and able to escape.

The earthquake had a depth of 50 kilometers, according to JMA, and could be strongly felt by residents in Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Fukushima, Chiba and Tokyo.

No abnormalities or problems were reported by any nuclear plants in the affected areas.

Japan is located on a major seismic fault known as the Median Tectonic Line, which begins near Ibaraki prefecture and stretches all the way to Kyushu. The country experiences earthquakes on a daily basis.

In 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake shook northeastern Japan and unleashed a savage tsunami, causing deaths and the disappearances of more than 22,000 people and a direct financial loss of $200 billion.

The tsunami sparked a cooling system failure at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, resulting in a level 7 nuclear meltdown and the release of radioactive materials, which forced about 470,000 people to evacuate.

Japanese people are still recovering from the disaster, in which more than 90,000 evacuees lost their homes. Around 40,000 of them still living in temporary housing as of 2017, Japan's Reconstruction Agency said.