SAPPORO (Kyodo) -- A freight train derailed in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido on Saturday, disrupting some passenger and commercial railway services, its operator said.

Five of the train's 20 freight cars came off the tracks while traveling between stations in a town near Hakodate, a southern city in the prefecture. The driver was uninjured, JR Freight said.

The freight train had departed from Nagoya in central Japan and was bound for Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. The emergency brake was applied while it was in motion and the driver confirmed some cars had derailed.

Following the accident, local train services were suspended from the morning and operations of the express train connecting Sapporo and Hakodate were halted.