ANKARA

A strong earthquake of magnitude of 6.8 hit northern and northeastern Japan on Saturday, local media said.

However, the weather agency has not issued tsunami warning, Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency reported.

The epicenter of the quake was about 490 kilometers (304 miles) below the surface of the earth, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

So far, no damage has been reported from the affected region of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido.

Japan is already on mega-earthquake alert since a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit southwestern Japan on Thursday.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid