1st LD Writethru: 4.8-magnitude quake jolts central Japan, seismic activity increasing

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 struck Tokyo's neighboring Saitama Prefecture on Tuesday evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, although a tsunami warning has not been issued.

The temblor struck at 7:12 p.m. local time at a latitude of 35.9 degrees north and a longitude of 139.8 degrees east, the agency said.

The quake struck at a depth of 80 km and registered 3 on Japan's seismic scale which peaks at 7, according to the JMA.

The JMA said the tremor could be felt in the neighboring regions of Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures, among others.

The rise in quakes recently both in and in offshore regions of the landlocked Kanto area on the main island of Honshu, including Ibaraki Prefecture that borders the Pacific Ocean northeast of Tokyo and neighboring Saitama Prefecture, is due to increased activity recently along the Japan Median Tectonic Line, the weather agency said.

This fault system is the longest in Japan and has seen increased activity of late, a JMA official was quoted as saying, referencing the findings of seismologists.

The active fault system begins in Ibaraki Prefecture and also lies 3,000 meters beneath ground level in Saitama Prefecture, the epicenter of Tuesday's quake. Enditem