Japan Warns of 'Huge' Earthquake After Magnitude 7.7 Tremor

Tokyo: Japan issued a special advisory on Monday warning of an increased risk of earthquakes at magnitude 8.0 or stronger, after a powerful jolt rattled the country's north and prompted a tsunami warning.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said in a statement that "the likelihood of a new, huge earthquake occurring is relatively higher than during normal times".

The warning for the northern region came a few hours after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the area, shaking large buildings in the capital Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.

The quake, which was initially estimated at magnitude 7.4 before being revised to 7.5 and again to 7.7, hit at 4:53 pm (0753 GMT) in Pacific waters off northern Iwate prefecture.

There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or significant damage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a news conference. A Cabinet Office official told a separate televised briefing that "while it is uncertain whether (another) major earthquake will actually occur, we ask that you take disaster preparedness measures based on the principle that you are responsible for your own safety".

Officials said the advisory is not a quake prediction but urged residents to raise their preparedness, such as emergency food and their grab bag just in case, while continuing their daily lives. The advisory for the region is the second in recent months. One was issued following another major quake in December. No major subsequent quake occurred.

Earlier, a tsunami of about 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) was detected at the Kuji port in the Iwate prefecture within one hour of the quake, and a smaller tsunami of 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) was recorded at another port in the prefecture, the agency said.

The tsunami alert and advisory were still in place in Japan, with warnings of a wave of up to 3 meters (10 feet), but the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami threat from the quake "has now passed."

The Japanese agency urged residents in the region to immediately stay away from the coast or along rivers and take shelter on higher ground. It also cautioned people in the area against possible aftershocks for about a week.

Footage on NHK television showed many people driving up to parks and other facilities on higher ground. In the town of Tomakomai in Hokkaido, a resident came to a hilltop park after picking up his child at a cram school and said he planned to stay until the alert is lifted.

Iwate and three other northern prefectures issued non-binding evacuation advisories to more than 128,000 residents, according to the disaster management agency. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said officials are assessing the situation but so far no damage or injuries have been reported, including at power stations and other facilities.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said nuclear power plants and related facilities in the region were all intact and no abnormalities were detected. Another 7.5 magnitude quake in December left dozens injured.

It's 15 years since a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged parts of northern Japan, caused more than 22,000 deaths and forced nearly half a million people to flee their homes, most of them due to tsunami damage.

Some 160,000 people fled their homes in Fukushima because of the radiation spewed from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. About 26,000 of them haven't returned because they resettled elsewhere, their hometowns remain off-limits or they have lingering concerns about radiation.

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