People are reportedly trapped in collapsed buildings after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit northern Japan near a major city.
The US Geological Survey says earthquake struck the island of Hokkaido about 3am (local time) and had a depth of 33.4 kilometres.
Local police reported to public broadcaster NHK that people were trapped in collapsed buildings.
Noborito town official Kenji Yamamoto told the broadcaster there were no reports of injuries or death in that town.
The quake's epicentre is about 27.3 kilometres east of the city of Tomakomai, which has a population of about 175,000, and 64.8 kilometres southeast of Sapporo, which is a major metropolitan area of 1.9 million people.
A 5.3 magnitude aftershock rocked the area a short while later.
The Kyodo news service reports that in Tokyo, the central government set up a liaison unit at the crisis management centre of the prime minister's office to gather information on the temblor.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed officials to ascertain the extent of damage and extend a helping hand to those affected.
The news service reports that the quake triggered a blackout across a wide area in Hokkaido. It also affected telephone service and television broadcasting in Sapporo.
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