5.1-Magnitude quake jolts Japan's Hokkaido prefecture

TOKYO, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake of 5.1 magnitude struck off the coast of Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan at 12:45 p.m. local time (0345 GMT) on Friday, the weather agency here said.

The temblor, which measured 4 on the Japanese seismic scale which peaks at 7, in parts of Hokkaido, struck at a latitude of 42.6 degrees north and a longitude of 143.8 degrees east, and at a depth of 60 km, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.