An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 4.9 jolted Kagoshima Prefecture and surrounding areas on Saturday afternoon, the Meteorological Agency said.
There were no reports of casualties or damage from the 1:28 p.m. quake and no tsunami warning was issued, the agency said.
The quake measured 4 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Akune, Tsuruda, Kedoin and Noda in Kagoshima Prefecture, and 3 in Sendai in the same prefecture and Yatsushiro and Hitoyoshi in nearby Kumamoto Prefecture.
The focus of the quake was about 10 km beneath the surface in Kagoshima Prefecture's Satsuma region.
Kyushu Railway Co. temporarily halted six express trains running on the Kagoshima line to conduct inspections, JR Kyushu officials said.
No problems were reported at the Sendai nuclear power station in Kagoshima Prefecture and the facility is operating as usual, a plant official said.
A quake of 4 on the Japanese scale is strong enough to wake most sleeping people, according to the agency.