2nd LD: Tsunami warning issued for Japan's coastal areas of Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate prefectures

TOKYO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 struck northeastern Japan late Monday night, the country's weather agency said.

The temblor occurred at 11:15 p.m. local time at a depth of 50 km, measuring upper 6 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, which peaks at 7, said the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The epicenter was located off Aomori Prefecture's eastern coast at a latitude of 41.0 degrees north and a longitude of 142.3 degrees east.

The JMA has issued tsunami warnings for Japan's coastal areas of Hokkaido, Aomori, and Iwate prefectures following the powerful quake. Enditem