The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.5 earthquake has occurred off southern Japan. No tsunami was generated.
The quake occurred 220km west of Chichi-shima beneath the Bonin Islands at 7.32am on Thursday at a depth of 520km.
A magnitude 7.4 quake occured in the remote archipelago in December, without any casualties.
The chain is known as the "Galapagos of the Orient".