The temblor, with an estimated magnitude 5.0 on the open-ended Richter scale, struck around 11:27 p.m. (2:27 p.m. GMT), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake measured upper 5, the fourth-highest level on the 10-notch Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7, in the city of Saiki in the prefecture located in the eastern part of Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands, according to the agency. The earthquake did not trigger tsunami.

The focus of the quake was located at a depth of 42 kilometers in the Bungo Channel between Oita and the prefecture of Ehime on the Shikoku western main island, the agency said.

According to the Oita prefectural government and local fire authorities, there have been no reports on injuries or building damage from the earthquake.

Shikoku Electric Power Co. said that the temblor had no impact on its Ikata nuclear power station's No. 3 unit, which is one of five currently active reactors in the nation. The plant is in the Ehime town of Ikata, where the quake registered 3 on the Japanese scale. (Jiji Press)