6.9-magnitude earthquake rocks Japan

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 on Saturday jolted off Japan’s Bonin Islands or Ogasawara Islands, the country’s weather agency said.

The temblor occurred at 5.36 p.m. local time (0836 GMT) at a depth of 540 km, measuring 3 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of the prefecture, said the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The epicentre was located off the west coast of the islands, about 875 km south of Tokyo, at a latitude of 27.9 degrees north and a longitude of 140.0 degrees east, Xinhua news agency reported.

Weak tremors were also felt in central Tokyo. No tsunami warnings have been issued.

Details are awaited.