Earthquake jolts Tokyo

A moderate earthquake jolted the Tokyo area on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 and was focused 30 km (18.64 miles) below the surface of the earth in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The earthquake measured 3 on the Japanese intensity scale, which gauges ground motion. A quake with that reading is typically strong enough to cause electric wires to swing slightly and to be felt by most people in a building.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region in northern Japan, killing 65 people and injuring more than 3,000.

That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6,400.