M5.1 quake hits off eastern Japan’s Ibaraki Pref., no tsunami warning

TOKYO – An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck off Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo early Thursday morning, the weather agency said.

No tsunami warning was issued after the 4:13 a.m. quake, which the agency said originated in the Pacific off the eastern Japan prefecture at a depth of about 50 kilometers.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the temblor measured 4 on the country’s seismic intensity scale of 7 in Kasama, Ibaraki. Other areas registered lower intensity.