An earthquake assessed at magnitude 6.5 struck off the eastern coast of Japan early Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. A tsunami advisory was briefly issued, but it was later canceled.
The quake was recorded at 4:22 a.m. (3:22 p.m. ET) about 80 miles east of the city of Iwaki on the island of Honshu, the USGS said. It was preliminarily assessed at magnitude 6.8, but that was downgraded about an hour later. The Japan Meteorological Agency and the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center both said no destructive tsunami threat was likely, but the U.S. agency advised that earthquakes of this magnitude can sometimes generate local tsunamis along nearby coastal areas.
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SOCIAL
— M. Alex Johnson