The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami alert in the region after a powerful earthquake struck off the northern Japanese coast.
The quake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 occurred off the coast of Sanriku in northern Japan at around 4.53pm local time, at a depth of about 10km (six miles) below the sea surface, the agency said.
The earthquake recorded an upper-5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7, meaning the shaking was strong enough to make movement difficult without support and to topple furniture.
As darkness fell, there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, however, amid warnings that other tsunami had been observed offshore.
Japan’s meteorological agency said earthquakes of a “similar scale” could continue for as long as a week, according to the Kyodo news agency.
Earlier, Japan’s NHK public television said a tsunami of up to 10ft (three metres) could hit the area.
Authorities in Japan urged people living near the country’s northeast coast to evacuate to higher ground.
Tsunami waves have been observed in several areas, prompting warnings and advisories in Fukushima, Iwate and Aomori prefectures, as well as the northernmost main island of Hokkaido.
The public broadcaster NHK showed live footage of sections of coastline, with announcers repeatedly urging people to flee before darkness fell.
It has been 15 years since the same region was devastated by a magnitude-9 earthquake that set off a tsunami and a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The disaster killed almost 20,000 people, most of whom were swept away by the tsunami.
There are no nuclear power plants currently in operation in Hokkaido and Tohoku regions but Hokkaido Electric Power and Tohoku Electric Power have a number of shutdown nuclear power plants there.
Tohoku Electric said it was checking the impact of the earthquake and tsunami on its Onagawa nuclear power plant.
Reuters reported that prime minister Sanae Takaichi said the government had set up an emergency taskforce and urged citizens in the affected areas to evacuate to safety.
Broadcaster NHK showed ships sailing out of Hachinohe port in Hokkaido in anticipation of the waves, as an alert ’Tsunami! Evacuate!’ flashed across the screen.
Bullet train services in Aomori at the northern tip of Japan’s main Honshu island were halted due to the tremors, Kyodo news agency reported. – Guardian