There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. And there was no fear of a tsunami from the quake that occurred at about 3:30 pm (1830 GMT), the agency said.

The quake's epicenter was in Ibaraki prefecture, about 70 kilometersmiles) northeast of Tokyo. The focus was about 50 kilometers (30 miles) below the surface, the agency said.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.