A tsunami advisory was issued on Thursday after a powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 6.9 hit off the coast of southern Japan.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 and was centred off the eastern coast of Japan's southern main island of Kyushu at a depth of about 30 kilometres.
It issued a tsunami advisory, predicting waves of up to 1 metre along the southern coast of Kyushu and the nearby island of Shikoku.
No other details were immediately available.
Japan, located within the Pacific “ring of fire,” is considered one of the most earthquake-prone regions globally.
The country experienced a major magnitude 9.0 earthquake in March 2011, followed by a devastating tsunami, which caused widespread destruction along the northeastern coast, claiming the lives of nearly 20,000 people and sparking the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdowns.
More recently, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the north-central region of Noto on 1 January, resulting in the death of at least 241 people.
