Tokyo: A strong earthquake struck off the northern coast of Japan late on Monday, prompting tsunami warnings and sending people in coastal areas to higher ground. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported the magnitude as 7.5 and said the earthquake hit near Aomori and Hokkaido regions at around 11.15 pm local time.

Following the quake, authorities issued a tsunami alert for the northeastern coastline. Sirens warned residents to move away from beaches and low lying areas. Initial alerts warned of possible waves up to three meters high.

However, later observations showed that the tsunami waves were much smaller. The highest measured wave was about 70 centimetres in some ports in Iwate Prefecture, while many other coastal areas recorded waves around 50 centimetres. By early Tuesday morn

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