An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale jolted Tokyo and nearby areas this morning, injuring several people, but there were no reports of major damage.
The quake, with its focus 80 km below the surface in the Pacific Ocean east of Tokyo, occurred at 3.55 a.m. (Irish time), the Meteorological Agency said.
No tsunami warning was issued, but fire officials quoted by Kyodo news agency said seven people were slightly injured when part of a temple wall collapsed in central Tokyo.
The tremor did not seriously disrupt transport. Officials at Tokyo's Haneda airport, which handles mainly domestic flights, said runways were closed for 15 minutes but there was no serious effect on flights. The city's Narita international airport was unaffected.
About 500 people were injured and a similar number of homes damaged or destroyed in a quake in July in Miyagi prefecture, 300 km north of Tokyo. Memories are still vivid of the earthquake in the western city of Kobe that killed more than 6,400 people eight years ago. That quake measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.