Several tremors, including one measuring a strong 5.0 on the Richter scale, shook northeastern Japan early on Monday, the latest aftershocks from a series of more powerful earthquakes that left hundreds injured over the weekend.

The magnitude 5.0 tremor hit northern Miyagi prefecture, about 300 km (190 miles) north of Tokyo, shortly after 4 am, an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Police in the mostly rural area with a population of around 2.3 million said Saturday's quakes injured more than 420 people, as well as causing landslides and power blackouts. The prefecture authorities put the injury toll higher at over 560.

"Amid the continuing aftershocks, we are very concerned about what is likely to be significant physical and mental strain," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told reporters, referring to the plight of local residents.

"We would like to make efforts toward a quick recovery of affected areas and to aid victims," Fukuda added.

While there were no immediate reports of major damage from the latest aftershock, it further frayed the nerves of local residents, thousands of whom have evacuated their homes.

Around 2,800 people remained evacuated from their homes as of this morning, according to the Miyagi prefectural government.

"People are feeling really sensitive now," said an official at Nangocho, a small town with a population of around 7,000 in Miyagi prefecture.

Residents who had been staying at a local elementary school gymnasium moved to another gymnasium at a junior high school this morning after the roof was damaged, he added.

"If there is another big earthquake (news - web sites), there might be a risk of something dropping down," the official said over the telephone.

The first earthquake on Saturday, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, hit shortly after midnight, followed by a second measuring 6.2 about seven hours later.

Monday's aftershock measured around five on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of seven in some areas, including the town of Matsuyama in northern Miyagi, the Meteorological Agency official said.

The depth of the epicenter of the earthquake was 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), the official said.

There were at least two more aftershocks on Monday morning, although they were both weaker, including one with an estimated magnitude of 2.9, the official added.

Officials have said the quakes are not linked to a deadly cyclical quake that has hit the region around every 30 to 40 years and last struck in 1978, killing 28 people.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone nations, sitting on the junction of at least three tectonic plates, slabs on the earth's surface whose movements cause quakes.

Tokyo's last major quake in 1923 killed more than 140,000 in the capital and surrounding area.

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