Japan issues tsunami warning after 6.1-magnitude earthquake and aftershocks hit Izu Islands

Residents asked to stay away from coasts and rivers as warnings in place for main Honshu island

A tsunami advisory has been issued by the Japanese meteorological agency on Thursday after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck outlying islands in the Izu chain.

The forecaster warned of waves up to one metre in height for the islands which stretch to the south of Japan’s main island Honshu.

Small tsunami surges of up to 0.2 metres were forecast for Honshu itself, with the warning applying to a large area stretching from Chiba Prefecture around Tokyo in the east to Kagoshima Prefecture in the west.

A tiny tsunami of about 30 centimetres (1 foot) was observed in the Yaene area on the Hachijo island, the meteorological agency said.

While the alert issued was at the second lowest level of Japan’s four level warning system, residents were asked to stay away from coasts and river mouths, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The warning was prompted after a series of earthquakes, the strongest measuring 6.1, struck at around 11am local time with an epicentre in the Pacific Ocean, about 550km south of Tokyo. The strongest earthquake occurred at a depth of about 10km.

The islands of the Izu chain are uninhabited and located in a cluster about 580 km south of Tokyo.

Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone places on earth. A massive quake in 2011 caused a tsunami that destroyed huge swaths of northern Japan and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Almost 20,000 people were killed in the series of disasters. The costs from the disasters totalled around £300bn.