An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit off the east coast of Japan on Monday morning, triggering a local tsunami warning, according to?the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said ?the earthquake occurred at about 7:23 a.m. local time Monday (2223 GMT Sunday),?at a depth of 5.9 kilometers.?

The epicenter?was 38.3 degrees North Latitude and 142.4 degrees East Longitude, some 161 km east-northeast of Fukushima, Honshu, and 368 km northeast of Tokyo, according to the JMA.

A 50-cm tsunami warning was issued earlier by the?JMA for the Pacific coast of Miyagi Prefecture and was cancelled at 09:05 a.m. local time.

On March 11,?the Miyagi Prefecture and neighboring regions were struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake off the coast and ensuing tsunamis, which killed at least 10,000 people and caused severe damage and huge property loss.

The catastrophe also?triggered a nuclear leak crisis at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima, and?the Japanese government is still trying to bring it under control.