The Japan earthquake registered 5.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale.
No tsunami alert has been issued according to the Pacific Tsunami Center.
It struck at around 5pm local time (10am BST) at a shallow depth of just over six miles.
The quake struck near the Ryukyu Islands, also know as the Nansei Islands, a string of islands to the south of mainland Japan.
It hit 100 miles from the town of Naze, which is home to 42,000 people.
In total some 667,000 people live in the affected area – although the United States Geological Society (USGS) said only around 2,000 of these will have felt any shaking.
The USGS said homes in the regions were largely suited to survive earthquakes.
Its website said: “Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist.
“The predominant vulnerable building types are heavy wood frame and reinforced/confined masonry construction.”
The earthquake struck in the same week the Pacific island of Tonga was also rattled by a strong quake.
READ MORE: What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
Japan and Tonga are both located in the Pacific Ring of Fire a geologically-active region which stretches around the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand through East Asia before stretching down North, Central and South America.
Already this month Tonga has been struck twice while in September quakes registering at least 5.0 also hit New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Papa New Guinea and Vanuatu.
READ MORE: Why have there been so many volcanoes and earthquakes this year?