TOKYO -- A quake with a magnitude of 6.3 jolted northern Japan early Monday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake occurred off the coast of Iwate, some 310 miles (500 kilometers) north of Tokyo at 7:08 am (2208 GMT) Monday. The quake's center was 19 miles (30 kilometers) below the sea surface, the agency said.

Iwate police official Takahiro Fujibayashi said there were no reports of damage.

"I felt the tremor, but nothing fell off from bookshelves after the quake," he said.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people. (AP)