A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit northeastern Japan early Thursday morning.

The epicenter of the 12:26 a.m. quake was about 120 km underground in the Pacific coast area of northern Iwate Prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Grab image taken from Japan's NHK TV on July 24, 2008 shows a strong earthquake hitting Aomori Prefecture in northeastern Japan. The strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit northeastern Japan early Thursday morning local time. The quake sent shockwave across all northeastern part of Japan's Honshu Island and southern part of the northernmost Hokkaido Prefecture. (Xinhua Photo) 

The quake sent shockwave across all northeastern part of Japan's Honshu Island as well as southern part of the northernmost Hokkaido Prefecture.

The agency issued no tsunami warning following the quake. There was no report of damage so far.

Grab image taken from Japan's NHK TV on July 24, 2008 shows goods scattering on the ground in a supermarket in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (Xinhua Photo) 

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2008)