A strong earthquake has struck Northern Japan. Tsunami warning and advisory are in effect, writes NHK World.

The Japan Meteorological Agency says the magnitude 7.5 quake occurred off the coast of Sanriku, Iwate Prefecture at 4:53 p.m, and had an intensity of upper 5 on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7 in the hardest-hit areas.

Long tremors that could rock high-rise buildings have been recorded in Tohoku. The agency calls this "long-period ground motion". It affects people on higher floors. A 4-level scale ranks their intensity. Class 3 tremors make it difficult to remain standing. These were felt in Wakuya Town in Miyagi Prefecture and Yokote City in Akita Prefecture.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a tsunami warning for Iwate Prefecture and parts of Hokkaido and Aomori. Tsunami up to 3 meters high are expected. It has issued a tsunami advisory to Hokkaido, Aomori, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. The water may reach up to 1 meter in those areas.

The government set up a task force at the crisis management center of the Prime Minister`s Office immediately after the earthquake. The operators of airports in Shin-chitose and Sendai say their operations have not been affected due to the quake. The operator of Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train says the service has been suspended between Tokyo station and Shin-Aomori station. It had been halted because of the earthquake. The Yamagata Shinkansen has also suspended services between Tokyo and Fukushima stations.