A strong earthquake struck the coast of Hokkaido Island in Japan Monday morning. with a magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale.

The US Geological Survey recorded the magnitude at 6.2 on the Richter scale. The earthquake struck at 2.32 am local time in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 70 kilometers.

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The nearest Japanese city is Nemuro, 291 kilometers from the epicenter. No immediate damage has been reported here.

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake is categorized as strong on the Richter scale. A similar earthquake that hit Tokyo with 6.0 magnitude in May shook buildings and injured 17 persons.

The epicenter in Monday's quake was closer to Russian territory than to Japanese; the town of Kuril is only 94 kilometers away on the disputed Kuril Islands, which for decades have been the core of a long-running territorial dispute between Japan and Russia.

The islands were occupied by the Russians just before World War II ended in 1945.

Tokyo has ever since then insisted of having their territorial rights back, but the Russians have refused.

Kuril Island is composed of four islands, called the Northern Territories by the Japanese and the Kuril islands by the Russian.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in Japan. Situated at the conjuncture of several tectonic plates, Japan experiences a number of relatively violent quakes every year.

The biggest earthquake reported in Japan in modern times was in 2011, called the "Sendai Earthquake"

It had a magnitude of 9.0 and caused severe damage to buildings and property in the Tohoku region of the coast of the city Sendai.

At least 1000 were killed.

Due to strict building codes, even very strong quakes that would wreak havoc in other countries often pass without causing much damage in Japan.

Tagsearthquake, Hokkaido