The focus of the quake under the Pacific Ocean was within a zone off Japan's coast where an earthquake causing a massive tsunami is predicted to occur in the future.
For a year, dozens of earthquakes have rattled the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture while crustal deformations continue and scientists still do not know why this is happening.
The likelihood of a powerful earthquake striking over the next 30 years remains high along Pacific coastal areas of Japan in light of a spate of recent aftershocks triggered by the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, scientists say.
Risk of huge earthquake stays high on Japan s Pacific side japantimes.co.jp - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from japantimes.co.jp Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.