A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, issuing a tsunami warning with waves expected to reach three meters.

The earthquake struck at 4:53 PM (7:53 AM GMT) in the Pacific Ocean, off the northern coast of Iwate Prefecture. The tremors were so powerful that they shook tall buildings as far away as Tokyo, hundreds of kilometers away.

The first waves of the tsunami could immediately reach the northern coastline, the JMA indicated. It warned that damage from tsunami waves was to be expected.

"Evacuate coastal areas and riverfront areas immediately to a safer location, such as higher ground or an evacuation building. Tsunami waves are expected to hit repeatedly. Do not leave safe locations until the alert is lifted," she said, with NHK television immediately interrupting its programming.

The country is still traumatized by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake of March 2011, which triggered a tsunami that left some 18,500 dead or missing. That earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of Japan, along the Nankai Trench, just offshore.

This 800-kilometer-deep underwater trench is the area where the Philippine Sea oceanic plate is slowly "sinking" under the continental plate on which Japan rests.

The government estimates that an earthquake in the Nankai Trench, followed by a tsunami, could kill up to 298,000 people and cause up to $2 trillion in damage.

Japan is located at the junction of four major tectonic plates, on the western edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", and is among the most seismically active countries in the world.

The archipelago, home to approximately 125 million people, experiences some 1,500 earthquakes each year. The vast majority are minor, although damage varies depending on their location and depth beneath the Earth's surface.