4.9-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture: JMA

TOKYO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.9 struck Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan on Friday, the country's weather agency said.

The temblor occurred at 7:05 p.m. local time at a depth of 50 km, measuring 4 on Japan's seismic scale of 7 in the hardest-hit areas, said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The tremors were felt in central Tokyo.

The quake's epicenter was located in southern Ibaraki Prefecture at a latitude of 36.2 degrees north and a longitude of 140.1 degrees east.

No tsunami advisory was issued.