A powerful earthquake of 6.0 magnitude hit northern Japan on Sunday evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake happened at 6:24 p.m. local time, with the epicenter about 40 kilometers under the sea off Iwate prefecture, at 40.3 degrees north latitude and 142.5 degrees east longitude. No tsunami warning has been issued and there was no immediate report of deaths or injuries.

The agency said the quake was most strongly felt in the southeastern part of Aomori Prefecture, where intensity 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 was registered.

The quake was also felt in Iwate's neighboring prefectures of Miyagi, Tochigi and Yamagata.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2009)