The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit near Miyazaki in southwestern Japan.

The agency says the earthquake struck at 8:48 a.m. local time on Friday and had an epicentre 39 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Miyazaki, a city of about 400,000. The earthquake had a depth of 23 kilometers (14 miles.)

The Japan Times reports that Kyushu Electric Power Co. says no abnormalities were reported at the nearby Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture.

comment COMMENT NOW