An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit northern Japan at around 5:59 am on Tuesday. The quake, whose epicentre was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, prompted tsunami advisories for much of the nation's northern Pacific coast.
Coastal communities resumed fishing operations as vessels returned to ports in Fukushima prefecture after a powerful earthquake sent a series of moderate tsunamis towards Japan's northeastern shore on Tuesday.
A number of ships sailed away from the Pacific coastline in the pre-dawn hours after authorities issued a tsunami warning and urged residents to seek higher ground immediately.
The warning was lifted nearly four hours later.
(With inputs from AP)
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