A tsunami advisory has been issued across large parts of Japan after a powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Philippines on Monday morning.
The quake hit at around 8.37am near the island of Mindanao, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, prompting immediate warnings of potentially dangerous sea level changes across the region.
Authorities warned that tsunami waves of up to one metre could reach Japan, with the earliest impacts expected to hit Miyakojima by 11am, followed by other coastal areas further north later in the day.
The advisory covers a wide stretch of coastline, including areas in Ibaraki, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Wakayama, Kochi, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, reports The Japan Times.
The Japan Meteorological Agency urged residents and workers in affected coastal areas to move away from shorelines and river mouths immediately, warning that tsunami waves can arrive repeatedly and intensify without warning.
Officials also stressed that those working at sea or along the coast should stop operations at once and evacuate to higher ground.
Separately, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued its own alerts, forecasting waves of up to three metres in the Philippines and up to one metre in Malaysia.
The agency warned that tsunami waves can strike multiple times, often increasing in strength, and advised people in at-risk areas to avoid coastal zones entirely.
Residents were urged to remain vigilant as conditions develop across the Pacific region following the powerful offshore earthquake.
