Japan rocked by 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Ibaraki prefecture

An earthquake hit Japan on Monday afternoon, the country's Meteorological Agency and various media reports confirmed.

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The quake - measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale - was centered in Ibaraki Prefecture, Kanto Region on the main island of Honshu, and led to the temporary suspension of the region's railway services.

The tremor also forced Narita International Airport to temporarily close two of its runways.

Although no aftershocks were detected, officials warned of the risk of falling rocks and landslides in areas where strong tremors had been felt. Nevertheless, they did not issue a tsunami warning.

The country was hit by a massive earthquake in 2011 that was followed by a tsunami that killed 20,000 people and damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, leading to the shut-down of most of the country's nuclear reactors for several years.

The aftershocks of the Fukushima tragedy were felt as far afield as Germany, hardening the European's country's stance against nuclear energy - much to the chagrin of the nation's manufacturers.

Berlin's stated goal now is to shut down all of its nuclear reactors by 2020.

Before Fukushima Japan's 50-plus main reactors provided some 30% of the Asian country's electricity and that was expected to increase to at least 40% by 2017, according to the World Nuclear Association.

"The prospect now is for at least half of this, from a depleted fleet."

Until 2011 estimates from most private energy analysts pointed to nuclear power playing a critical role in meeting the world's needs for cheap and clean energies by 2030. The resulting deficit has since been made up by North America's shale oil and gas revolution.