Massive quake jolts central Japan, major tsunami warning issued

TOKYO, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- A series of strong earthquakes with major ones measured at up to 7.6-magnitude has struck the central Japanese prefecture of Ishikawa on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The quake registered an intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic which peaks at 7, with temblors felt in multiple regions of the Asian country.

According to the weather agency, the latest major temblor occurred at 4:10 p.m. local time (0710 GMT) at a shallow depth.

The temblor's epicenter was located at Ishikawa's Noto region Wajima east-northeast 30 km at 37.5 degrees north latitude and a longitude of 137.2 degrees east longitude.

A major tsunami warning has been issued by the JMA for Noto region, urging people to evacuate immediately, following tsunami warnings for Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa prefectures of the Japan Sea side of the country.