Japan's capital, eastern regions rocked by third quake in 72 hours

Eastern Japan and capital Tokyo have been rocked by a third moderately strong earthquake in a 72-hour period.

Local news agency Kyodo cited the Japan Meteorological Agency as saying that the latest temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 and no tsunami warning was issued, or casualties or damage reported.

It struck at a depth of 43.7 kilometers (27 miles) in the south of Ibaraki Prefecture at 7.25 a.m. (2225GMT Tuesday), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

On Sunday afternoon, a magnitude 5.0 quake hit Ibaraki, located northeast of Tokyo.

It was followed by another with a magnitude of 5.2 off the coast of neighboring China Prefecture on Tuesday afternoon.

In April. powerful twin earthquakes hit southwest Japan, leaving at least 49 people dead.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active areas, accounting for around 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

The country's coastal areas of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures were devastated in the wake of a March 2011 quake.

An ensuing massive tsunami triggered a nuclear disaster and left around 15,894 people dead and 2,561 others missing and presumed dead.