Japan: 7.3 Magnitude Quake Hits Fukushima, Prompts Tsunami Warning

The epicentre of the earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture.

• An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit northern Japan on Tuesday
  
• The epicentre of the quake was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture
  
• The region affected by this earthqauke is the same devastated by the 2011 quake and tsunami, the strongest quake in Japan on record.

Nissan, Nuclear Power Plants Suspend Work at Fukushima

Nissan Motor Co said it would suspend work at its engine factory in Fukushima at least until a tsunami warning is lifted after a powerful earthquake rocked northern Japan early on Tuesday.

A spokesman said there were no injuries or damage at the plant, which was badly damaged in an earthquake and tsunami disaster in March 2011.

Separately, Toyota Motor Corp said all its factories in northeastern Japan were operating as usual

First Tsunami Waves Observed

A 60 cm (2 foot) tsunami had been observed at Fukushima's Onahama Port and a 90 cm (3 foot) tsunami at Soma soon after, public broadcaster NHK said.

Speaking in Argentina, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government will do its utmost to respond to the earthquake.

"We saw high waves but nothing that went over the tidal barriers," a man in the city of Iwaki told NTV television network.

One woman suffered cuts to her head from falling dishes, Kyodo news agency reported, citing fire department officials. Japanese Minister for Disaster Management Jun Matsumoto told reporters about three hours after the quake that there had been no reports of significant injuries so far.

Earthquake of High Magnitude Hits Fukushima, Japan

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit northern Japan at around 5:59 am on Tuesday. The quake, whose epicentre was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, promoted tsunami advisories for much of the nation's northern Pacific coast.

There hasn’t been any immediate reports of injury or damage yet.

Television footage showed ships moving out to sea from Fukushima harbours, as the meteorological agency warned of a tsunami of 3 metres (10 feet) for Fukushima, where Tepco's Daiichi nuclear plant was devastated in a March 2011 quake and tsunami.

The 2011 earthquake of magnitude 9 was the strongest quake in the history of Japan. It triggered a massive tsunami, causing the world’s worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

(With inputs from Reuters and NBC News.)