The earthquake also triggered a tsunami, which has reached the western Miyazaki prefecture, according to NHK.
The Japan Meteorological Agency stated that the quake was centered off the eastern coast of Kyushu, at a depth of about 30 kilometers.
In response to the earthquake, the Japanese government has established a special task force, as reported by AFP. Fortunately, there were no immediate reports of major damage.
Japan is one of the most tectonically active countries in the world, and it has strict building standards to ensure that structures can withstand powerful earthquakes.
The country, home to about 125 million people, experiences around 1,500 earthquakes each year. Most of these quakes are mild, but the damage they cause depends on their location and the depth at which they occur.
Earlier this year, on New Year's Day, a massive earthquake hit the peninsula, resulting in the deaths of at least 260 people. This included 30 deaths linked to the quake, as well as others who were directly affected by the disaster.
The January 1 earthquake and its aftershocks caused buildings to collapse, started fires, and damaged infrastructure during a time when families were celebrating the new year.
Japan's largest recorded earthquake occurred in March 2011. This magnitude-9.0 undersea earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan and triggered a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing.
The 2011 disaster also led to the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant, marking Japan's worst post-war disaster and the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl.
The total cost of the 2011 catastrophe was estimated at 16.9 trillion yen ($112 billion), not including the complex and lengthy decommissioning process of the Fukushima plant, which is expected to take decades.
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