5.4 magnitude quake shakes Tokyo

TOKYO: An earthquake shook Tokyo late Wednesday, but there were no reports of damage or casualties.

The 5.4 magnitude jolt was felt in Tokyo and areas of eastern Japan at 11:47 am (1447 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

The quake comes a week after the capital´s high-rise buildings were shaken by a 5.0 quake.

Quakes of a similar scale also shock Tokyo on July 17 and 19.

The epicentre of Wednesday´s quake was east of the capital in Ibaraki prefecture at a depth of about 46.7 kilometres (29 miles), the USGS said.

There was no threat of a tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year, but rigid building codes and strict enforcement mean even powerful tremors do little damage.

A massive undersea quake that hit in March 2011 sent a tsunami barrelling into Japan´s northeast coast, leaving more than 18,000 people dead or missing, and sending three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

In April, two strong earthquakes hit southern Japan´s Kumamoto prefecture followed by more than 1,700 aftershocks, and left 49 dead and caused widespread damage.