Tokyo - An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale shook southern Japan on Tuesday in the latest major tremor to hit the archipelago, but there were no reports of damage, officials said.

The earthquake rocked wide areas of the main southern island of Kyushu at 12.36am, the meteorological agency said. It was focused off Tanegashima island, 1 000km south-west of Tokyo.

"We have no reports of damage or injuries," a Kyushu police spokesperson said.

The tremor did not cause tsunami waves.

An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale shook northern Japan a week ago, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes as small tsunami waves hit the Pacific coast.