The quake’s epicentre was in the Kanagawa prefecture south next to the capital, at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Kanagawa does not lie within the western zone along the Pacific coast known as the Nankai Trough, which was specified in Thursday’s advisory on a megaquake with magnitude 8 or higher.

No tsunami alert was issued after the government sent strong tremor warnings for residents in Tokyo and prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Yamanashi and Shizuoka.

Some train lines, including Central Japan Railway’s Shinkansen high-speed rail services, stopped operations in regions near Tokyo and Kanagawa.

There were no reports of damage at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka and thermal plants in Kanagawa, the public broadcaster NHK said.