Waves reached the coast of southwestern Miyazaki prefecture on Thursday afternoon, around 10 o’clock Swedish time. 20 centimeter high waves have been recorded, according to the television company NHK WORLD-JAPAN. There are no immediate signs of injuries, reports the Reuters news agency.
The tsunami follows an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean with an epicenter just east of the southern island of Kyushu, according to the country’s meteorological institute.
Residents of the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku have been warned of a tsunami at a height of one meter.
The quake was upgraded early from 6.9 to 7.1 on the Richter scale. Its intensity has been measured at 6 on the Japanese seismic scale from 0 to 7, reports NHK WORLD-JAPAN.
The Japan Meteorological Institute categorizes the tsunami as yellow, just below red, which means an official tsunami warning.
Everyone in the area has been asked to seek higher ground.
The text is updated.