URGENT: 5.1-Magnitude quake strikes off Japan's Miyagi Prefecture: JMA

TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 struck off the Pacific coast of Miyagi Prefecture in the southern Tohoku Region of Japan, the weather agency here said Friday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the temblor occurred at 6:32 a.m. local time, at a latitude of 38.9 degrees north and a longitude of 142.1 degrees east.

The offshore quake originated at a depth of 50 km, the JMA said. Enditem