At least 30 people have been injured after Japan was rocked by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that triggered three-metre high tsunami warnings and sparked evacuation orders for tens of thousands of residents.
The massive quake struck late on Monday about 11.15pm local time (1.15am AEDT) off the coast of Aomori prefecture in the country’s northeast.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA) said the epicentre was 80 kilometres east-northeast of Hachinohe at a depth of about 50 kilometres.
Don’t miss the travel news you need to know — download the news.com.au app direct to your phone.
It was preliminary a magnitude 7.6 before being slightly downgraded.
Tsunami alerts were issued in Aomori as well as Hokkaido and Iwate prefectures.
At least 30 people have been injured, including one seriously, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
There have been no reports of significant damage as of yet, but The Japan Times published images of at least one building in flames in the city of Aomori.
JMA had warned tsunamis “will strike repeatedly” in a statement, with an official since alerting residents of the potential of a “powerful” quake in the next “several days”.
“There is a risk of damage from a tsunami,” an earlier alert read.
“People living in coastal areas or along rivers should immediately evacuate to high ground, evacuation buildings, or other safe places. Tsunamis will strike repeatedly.
“Do not leave a safe place until the warning is lifted.”
The emergency alerts were lifted in the early hours of Tuesday, Reuters reported.
A tsunami 40 centimetres in height reached Aomori’s Mutsu Ogawara and Hokkaido’s Urakawa ports just before midnight local time, according to Japanese media.
While other coastlines have experienced 20 to 70 centimetre waves.
Locals and tourists rushed to nearby makeshift shelters, as they sat on thin mattresses and kept warm with blankets watching the news for updates.
Others in the evacuation zone jumped into cars to drive to higher ground.
Security vision showed the inside of one office shaking wildly during the earthquake, with paperwork falling to the ground and blinds and signs swinging for 90 seconds.
“Japan’s disaster preparedness saves lives, but the sheer force of this quake is shocking,” the post on X read.
“May every family find protection and every soul find courage.”
Some 2700 homes lost power in towns but that was restored within hours.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the media there are reports of at least seven people injured. Local media, citing a hotel worker, say all are conscious and in hospital.
A response office has been set up in the PM’s crisis management centre and an emergency team have met to discuss the next steps.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said it is not known if there are any casualties or damage to property yet.
“Based on the instruction from the prime minister, we are mobilising all resources for assessing the damage, conducting search-and-rescue operations and implementing emergency disaster relief measures under the policy of prioritising human life,” he said.
Japan is one of the countries most prone to earthquakes as it sits on the Ring of Fire where volcanic and seismic activity happens often.
Close to 700 people died and more than 1400 were injured on New Year’s Day last year when a 7.6 magnitude quake struck Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.
The largest quake ever recorded in the Asian nation was a magnitude 9, which hit off the coast of the northern city of Sendai.
It triggered a series of tsunamis, some 40 metres in height, and hit multiple coastlines, leaving at least 18,000 dead and others missing.
