M5.2 quake hits Japan's Fukushima, nearby areas

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted Fukushima Prefecture and nearby areas early Thursday, the weather agency said. No tsunami warning has been issued, Kyodo reports. 

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 jolted Fukushima Prefecture and nearby areas early Thursday, the weather agency said. No tsunami warning has been issued.The 2:49 a.m. quake measured lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in one spot in Hinoemata and 4 in another part of the same village, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake, which occurred at a depth of 4 kilometers beneath Fukushima's inland area of Aizu, also registered 3 in many locations in Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Niigata prefectures, according to the agency.

No abnormalities have been detected at the Fukushima Daiichi or Daini nuclear power plants since the quake, the operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said.

The agency initially said the quake had a magnitude of 5.0 with a focus 10 km underground.

Noteworthy, Japan's space agency signed an agreement on Friday with Kumamoto Prefecture to realize the practical application of a program that can estimate the extent of damage to buildings caused by earthquakes using satellite images.