TOKYO: A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.4 struck the western Japan prefectures of Ehime and Kochi Wednesday night.

The quake occurred at around 11:14 p.m., measuring lower 6, the third-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale, in the Ehime town of Ainan and the Kochi city of Sukumo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The agency said that the quake is unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

The quake occurred at a depth of about 50 kilometers in the Bungo Channel, which separates the main Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

JIJI Press