Powerful earthquake strikes off Japan, triggers tsunami warning 

A powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake shook Japan’s northeast region late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and orders for residents to evacuate.

A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan’s northeastern coast after the earthquake occurred offshore at 11:15pm (14:15 GMT) on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Tsunami warnings were issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, and a tsunami of 40cm (16 inches) had been observed at Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports before midnight, JMA said.

Several people were injured at a hotel in the Aomori town of Hachinohe, public broadcaster NHK reported.

The epicentre of the quake was 80km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 50km (30 miles), the agency added.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, “hazardous tsunami waves from Hokkaido earthquake are possible within 1,000km (620 miles) of the epicentre along the coasts of Japan and Russia”.

East Japan Railway said it had suspended some train services in the region. Public broadcaster NHK reported that nuclear power plants in the affected areas were carrying out safety checks, with no immediate signs of problems.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in brief comment to reporters, said the government set up an emergency task force to urgently assess the extent of damage.

“We are putting people’s lives first and doing everything we can,” she said.

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, located in the seismically active “Ring of Fire”.

It accounts for about 20 percent of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater and was hit by a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in March 2011.