An earthquake has struck in the Pacific, off the coast of Japan
© USGSAn earthquake has struck in the Pacific, off the coast of Japan

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Japan, this morning.

The shaker - which is classed as "strong" - was near the island of Okinawa, which has a population of more than 1.4million.

Almost 16,000 people were killed by an earthquake off Japan's coast in 2011.

The under-sea tremor - which has a similar depth to today's quake - caused a tsunami, which led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The epicentre was in the Pacific Ocean - between Japan, China, South Korea and the Philippines, which has a population of 100million.

The island of Taiwan - where 24million people live - is very near.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the quake, which hit at a depth of 21 miles, about 166 miles east of Okinawa.

A map showing the intensity of the earthquake near Okinawa
A map showing the intensity of the earthquake near Okinawa