Tsunami warning in NE Japan after 7.0 quake

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning in northeast Japan on Saturday after an earthquake measuring 7.0 in magnitude struck off the east coast of Honshu.

There were no initial reports of damage from the quake.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the tsunami warning was for around 50 cm.

The epicentre of the quake was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, the same area as a June 14 quake which killed at least 10 and left as many again missing.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region in northern Japan, killing 65 people and injuring more than 3,000.

That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6,400.