A strong earthquake has shaken northern Japan in the same region that was hit by a deadly tremor last month, but there are no reports of serious injuries or damage.
The earthquake, with a focus 11 miles underground and with a preliminary magnitude of 5.2, shook the central Niigata region last night.
No tsunami warning was issued, and there were no reports of injuries except for a man in his forties who suffered a burn while cooking.
But it scared local residents still nervous after a 6.8 magnitude tremor on October 23rd that killed at least 38 people and injured more than 3,000. That was Japan's deadliest tremor since a 7.2 magnitude quake killed more than 6,400 people in the western city of Kobe in 1995.
A nuclear power plant operated by the nation's biggest utility, Tokyo Electric Power, shut down automatically when the tremor struck, the company said. There was no radiation leak, a spokesman said.
The Meteorological Agency warned that there could be more aftershocks on a similar scale over the next month.