5.5-magnitude earthquake hits eastern Japan near Tokyo

TOKYO -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 struck Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan on Tuesday, the country's weather agency said, with tremors felt in central Tokyo.

The temblor occurred at 7:46 pm local time in Ibaraki Prefecture at a depth of 50 km, measuring lower 5 on Japan's seismic scale of 7 in some areas in Gunma and Saitama prefectures, said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The quake's epicenter was located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at a latitude of 36.1 degrees north and a longitude of 139.9 degrees east.

No tsunami advisory was issued, the JMA said.