A tsunami as high as three metres (10 feet) could hit Japan's northeastern coast after an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.6 occurred offshore on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The tsunami warning was issued for the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate, after the quake jolted a large part of Japan's north and east at 11:15 p.m. (1415 GMT).

The epicentre of the quake was 80 km (50 miles) off the coast of Aomori prefecture, at a depth of 50 km (30 miles), the agency added.