No tsunami threat after strong Japan quake - PHIVOLCS

State seismologists said on Thursday that there was no threat of a destructive tsunami in the country following the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit the southwestern part of Japan.

''[T]here is no tsunami threat to the Philippines from this earthquake,'' PHIVOLCS said in an advisory.

According to Reuters, the earthquake happened at 4:43 p.m. local time off Miyazaki prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

The Japanese government is checking for damage and casualties, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, the report added. — Vince Angelo Ferreras/VBL, GMA Integrated News