A tsunami as high as three metres could hit Japan's north eastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
The tsunami warning was issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, after the quake jolted a large part of Japan's north and east at 11.15pm (2.15pm Irish time)
The epicentre of the quake was 80 km off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 50km the agency added.
