The 5.4-magnitude earthquake hit Friday and was centered about 24 miles north of the city of Mito, the capital of the Ibaraki Prefecture on the main island of Honshu.
There were no reports of any injuries or damage, nor was a tsunami warning issued.
The area neighbors the Fukushima prefecture, where a massive quake and tsunami left more than 21-thousand people dead or missing last March.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
