By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A series of moderate earthquakes jolted separate parts of Japan on Tuesday, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, and no danger of tsunami.
Two earthquakes of magnitude 4.2 and 4.6 struck northern Japan Tuesday morning. The first, which hit at 6:52 a.m., was centered approximately 70 kilometers (40 miles) below the surface in the northern part of Iwate prefecture (state), the agency reported. The epicenter was about 530 kilometers (330 miles) north of Tokyo.
The second quake struck at 11:01 a.m., and was approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the surface in southern Iwate, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) north of Tokyo.
A magnitude 4.5 quake occurred at 12:47 p.m. about 50 kilometers (30 miles) below the surface off the Wakayama coastline about 460 kilometers (285 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
Japan sits on four tectonic plates and is one of the world's most seismically active regions.