M4.9 quake hits eastern Japan including Tokyo, no tsunami threat

TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 struck eastern Japan around 4:45 a.m. Tuesday, registering 4 on Japan's seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Ibaraki and Saitama prefectures near Tokyo, the weather agency said.

There was no threat of a tsunami, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Japan Atomic Power Co. said no abnormalities were detected at the Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.