Tokyo:
A magnitude-6.5 earthquake shook eastern Japan off the quake-ravaged coast on Monday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, prompting Japan to issue a tsunami alert which was lifted soon after.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The alert was prompted by a quake that the U.S. Geological Survey measured at 7:23 a.m. on Monday Japan time (2223 GMT on Sunday) near the east coast of Honshu.
The USGS said the quake was 3.7 miles (5.9 kilometres) deep.
The Japan Meteorological Agencysaid the epicentre was 50 miles (80 kilometres) east of Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi prefecture, near one of the areas hardest-hit by the March 11 quake and tsunami.
A magnitude-9 quake off Japan's northeast coast on March 11 triggered a tsunami, causing a humanitarian disaster that is thought to have killed about 18,000 people.