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.