BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale rocked Japan Monday night, according to China's Seismological Monitoring Network.

    The quake occurred at 10:17 p.m. Beijing time.

    The epicenter, 36.7 degrees north latitude and 135.2 degrees east longitude, was about 200 kilometers away from Kyoto, the network said.

    Earlier reports said an earthquake rocked Japan's Niigata Prefecture Monday morning, killing seven elderly people and injuring more than 900.