Japan quake triggers tsunami alarm

TOKYO—An 8.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in the Kurile Islands and a tsunami warning issued for the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, on Wednesday.
A small tsunami wave also hit Japan’s northernmost island after the major quake in the Kurile Islands triggered a full-scale tsunami warning for areas of northern Japan and Russia’s Pacific coast. Japanese media reported that a wave measuring about 40 cm (16 inches) had come ashore at Nemuro, on the east coast of Japan’s Hokkaido Island.
NHK public television in Japan said local authorities in Hokkaido had been bracing for a tsunami predicted at between 1 to 2 meters in height. A lesser warning was issued for a wide swathe of the eastern coast of northern and central Honshu, Japan’s main island, but for waves expected to be some 50 cm (20 inches) at highest. A tsunami warning was also issued to all coastal areas in the Kuriles, NHK public television quoted Itar-Tass news agency as saying.—Agencies