The quake occurred at 10:06 am (0106 GMT) off the coast of Fukushima, 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Tokyo.

Tremors were felt widely in northern Japan's Tohoku region, but there was no danger of tidal waves, Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) said.

"We are flying helicopters over the areas where a strong tremor was registered, but have not seen any major damage," said a police spokesman in Miyagi, the prefecture north of Fukushima where the strongest tremors were felt.

Nearly 100 people were injured when a quake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale rocked the same area on May 27 followed by a series of powerful aftershocks. It was not immediately clear if Friday's quake was related to the earlier seismic activity.

TERRA.WIRE