An earthquake measuring magnitude 6.4 hit western Japan on Wednesday night. Officials say there is no tsunami threat. The quake struck at around 11:14 p.m. on Wednesday.
The Meteorological Agency says the epicenter was Bungo Suido channel, and the focus was 50 kilometers deep.
Agency officials say the tremor measured an intensity of lower 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of zero to 7 in parts of Ehime and Kochi prefectures, and lower 5 in parts of Oita Prefecture.
The Meteorological Agency says that this is the first time since 1996, when the current seismic intensity scale was introduced, that a quake with an intensity of lower 6 or higher has hit Ehime and Kochi prefectures.
Tremors of 1 through 4 were detected in wide areas in the Shikoku, Kyushu and Chugoku regions.
Prime Minister Kishida Fumio instructed officials to grasp the extent of damage as soon as possible.
He also called on officials to work closely with local governments to take all-out measures to rescue people and provide information on evacuation and damage in a timely manner.
Kenji Satake of the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute said that the temblor is believed to have occurred inside the Philippine Sea Plate.
He said there is a possibility that a landslide has occurred. He said that it is possible that quakes of the same intensity will continue for about a week and called on people to be on the alert.