TOKYO, Nov 20: A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 jolted the Ibaragi Prefecture near Tokyo on Sunday, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The earthquake also had no impact on the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co said. No tsunami warning was issued.

The quake struck at around 10:23 am (0123 GMT) about 130km north of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, and was felt in the capital. Its depth was about 10km.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake with an initial magnitude of 5.2.

On March 11, Japan’s northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake on record in Japan, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago.

The disaster left up to 23,000 dead or missing.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 per cent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.—Reuters