Tokyo, 8 Dec

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan on Monday, triggering a tsunami of up to 40 centimetres in coastal communities in the region, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said.

The epicentre of the quake struck was 80 kms east of Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main Honshu island, and just south of Hokkaido island. It said a tsunami of 40 centimetres struck the Hokkaido prefecture town of Urakawa and the Aomori prefecture port of Mutsu Ogawara.

Several people were injured at a hotel in the Aomori town of Hachinohe, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in a brief comment to reporters, said the government set up an emergency task force to urgently assess the extent of damage. “We are putting people's lives first and doing everything we can," she said.

Nuclear power plants in the region were conducting safety checks, NHK reported.