An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck off southern Japan on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said.

The quake struck 424 miles off Japan’s island of Kyushu at a depth of 6.2 miles, the agency said.

There are no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

This comes two weeks after a similar earthquake, at 6.3 on the Richter scale, hit 180 miles east of Iwaki, south of Fukushima, Japan.

It occurred 50 miles deep on the Japan trench, which is part of the area of seismic activity known as the Pacific Ring Of Fire.

A similar earthquake back in 2011 killed 15,894 people and injured 10 more when a tsunami, landslides and fires broke out as a result.

But experts are predicting today’s quake should pass by without causing any harm.

It comes just two weeks after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck six miles deep off the same coast at 2.37am.

The Pacific Ring Of Fire has been particularly active in recent weeks with volcanoes in Vanuatu and Bali looking ready to erupt.