Tokyo [Japan], December 12 (ANI): An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 has hit Japan's northeastern region, prompting a tsunami advisory from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), local media reported.

The earthquake struck on Friday off the coast of Aomori Prefecture at 11:44 am local time (02:44 GMT) at a depth of 20km (12.4 miles), according to the JMA.

The Japanese weather agency on Friday issued a tsunami advisory for northern and northeastern Japan.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the Pacific coast of Hokkaido, as well as Aomori, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, may see a tsunami of up to 1 metre following the temblor which struck at around 11:44 a.m. off the eastern part of Aomori at a depth of around 20 kilometres, Kyodo reported.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also said that the quake measured 6.7.

Officials are urging people living near the coast and rivers close to the sea in Japan to evacuate to inland areas

The earthquake came four days after Monday's powerful M7.5 temblor off the eastern coast of Aomori, prompting the agency to warn of the chance of a quake of similar or even larger magnitude hitting the same area within the coming several days.

As per Japanese national broadcaster NHK, the level of shaking from the quake was less than the bigger Monday's 7.5 earthquake that tore apart roads, smashed windows and triggered tsunami waves of up to 70 centimetres (2.3ft).

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said today there were no immediate signs of abnormalities at the region's nuclear facilities.

According to the NHK, Tohoku Electric Power Company says no abnormalities have been found at the Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture, or at the Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture. Tokyo Electric Power Company says no abnormalities have been found at the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear plants. Both companies say there are no changes in readings at monitoring posts that measure radiation levels around the plants. (ANI)