The tremor occurred at 3:26 pm (0626 GMT) with its epicenter located in the Strait of Tartarskiy (Mamiya) between the Russian Far East and the island of Sakhalin, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said.

"The focus was about 480 kilometers (300 miles) below surface and was too deep to cause severe physical impact on the ground or trigger tidal waves," an agency official said.

The quake was not related to a series of tremors occurring on the Pacific coast of Japan's Honshu Island since early Saturday with the biggest one registering 6.2, the official said.

The quake in the strait rocked coastal areas in northern Japan along the Sea of Japan (East Sea) with its intensity registering a maximum three on the Japanese scale of seven.

TERRA.WIRE