An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale affected north-eastern Japan Tuesday, the Meteorological Agency said, DPA reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property.
The epicentre of the 12:25 pm (0325 GMT) quake was 480 kilometres west of the Ogasawara islands, which are about 1,000 kilometres south of Tokyo in the Pacific, the agency said.
The quake was felt strongly on the eastern half of Honshu, one of the four main islands of Japan.