TOKYO, May 17 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 struck Japan's Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo in the Kanto region, at 12:12 p.m. local time on Thursday, the weather agency here said.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor, which measured 4 on the Japanese seismic scale which peaks at 7, struck at a latitude of 35.7 degrees north and a longitude of 140.8 degrees east, and at a depth of 50 km.
The quake measured 4 on Japan's seismic scale in parts of Chiba and 3 in the neighboring prefectures of Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures, the JMA said.
There has been no tsunami warning or advisory issued as a result of the quake, said the weather agency.
As a result of the quake there have been no immediate reports of injury or damage and Japan's nuclear watchdog has not reported any abnormalities at any of the country's nuclear facilities.