The Japan Meteorological Agency on Wednesday morning issued a tsunami warning to many areas facing the Pacific Ocean, including Hokkaido, the country’s northernmost prefecture.

The height of the expected tsunami may reach up to 3 meters, the agency warned.

The tsunami warning was upgraded at 9:40 a.m. from a tsunami advisory that was issued shortly after 8:35 a.m., following an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.7 that occurred near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, located northeast of Hokkaido, around 8:25 a.m. the same day.

Subject to the tsunami warning are Pacific coastal areas of Hokkaido to the Kii Peninsula in western Japan and Tokyo’s Izu and Ogasawara islands.

The agency newly issued a tsunami advisory to areas facing the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan in Hokkaido, Pacific coastal areas of the Shikoku western and Kyushu southwestern regions, and coastal areas of the Amami region of southwestern Japan and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

The agency urged people near the seas and rivers to evacuate to safe inland and upland areas immediately.

In preparation for the expected tsunami, the Japanese government set up a liaison office at the crisis management center of the prime minister’s office.

At an extraordinary press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi called on people in the areas subject to the tsunami warning to immediately move to upland areas or buildings designated for evacuation for
their safety.

The government is working to confirm any human or property damage, the top government spokesman said. (PNA)