An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 jolted northern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The focus of the quake, which occurred at 13:24 p.m., was some 10 kilometers underground in the Chishima-retto region in Hokkaido. There were no reports of injuries or damage. No tsunami warning was issued.

The US Geological Survey reported magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Russia's Pacific coast on Tuesday about 182 miles (293 km) east northeast off Kuril'sk in the Russia-held Kuril Islands, which is near Hokkaido.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2009)