An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck the northeastern coast of Japan and the authorities issued a tsunami warning.  Reports said that buildings swayed mildly in the capital city Tokyo due to the impact of the earthquake.

The quake hit the northeastern parts of the country around 2.36 PM (0536 GMT) and the epicenter of the quake was traced to the south of where the massive quake of March 11 shook Japan with a magnitude of 9.0 killing more than 30,000 people and destroying thousands of buildings. Thousands of people were washed away in the tsunami which followed the quake then.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned of tidal waves of up to 50 centimeters along the coast of Miyagi and Fukushima where nuclear reactors are located. The agency asked people to keep off the coast.