TOKYO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on Wednesday morning, the weather agency here said.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor's epicenter was located at a latitude of 36.5 degrees north and longitude of 141 degrees east and at a depth of 60 km.

The offshore quake registered 4 on Japan's seismic scale which peaks at 7, in parts of Ibaraki Prefecture, the weather agency also said.

The temblor also registered 3 on Japan's seismic scale, in the neighboring regions of Miyagi, Fukushima, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba prefectures, the JMA said.

The weather agency said that there was no tsunami warning issued as a result of this offshore quake and according to local authorities there have not as yet been any local reports of injury or damage to people or property as a result of the quake.

All nuclear power facilities in the region have reported no abnormalities following the quake hitting, Japan's nuclear watchdog said.?