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Security camera footage from the moment the earthquake hit.

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit north-eastern Japan late Tuesday night and an official in Japan says that what was felt was was an aftershock from the 2011 quake that hit the Tōhoku region.

The quake occurred near Morioka, Iwate prefecture around 11 p.m. last night, according to the United States Geologic Survey (USGS). The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory shortly after the quake, but rescinded it soon after and no injuries have been reported. However, a seismologist with the agency said this was an aftershock of the 2011 earthquake.

“This quake is an aftershock of the 2011 quake that hit the Tohoku region,” Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) seismologist Yasuhiro Yoshida told reporters.

However, according the USGS, aftershocks are usually felt immediately following an earthquake and will reduce in magnitude over time. If the 2011 earthquake hit at a magnitude of 9.0, you could expect to experience 10 magnitude 8.0 aftershocks, 100 magnitude 7.0 aftershocks, and so on until it dies out. These shocks happen soon after the initial hit, so could it be possible that this earthquake was an aftershock?

Public broadcaster NHK reported the quake and showed live video footage of shaking as far as Aomori prefecture. Users online have reported feeling the quakes throughout the day and far away as Sendai and Tokyo.

The initial earthquake was followed by another offshore jolt this time at a magnitude of 5.9, which was then followed by aftershocks. Small tsunamis reported to reach heights of about 20 cm were reported off the shores of Iwate, but the 1 metre tall waves that were predicted never appeared.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company said no abnormalities had been reported at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that suffered meltdowns at three reactors after an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The 3.11 Tōhoku earthquake struck at 9.0 on the Richter scale, many magnitudes higher than this most recent earthquake.