Japan lifts tsunami alert across Pacific coast after Mindanao quake
Waves reached several Japanese locations before the alert ended, with officials urging continued caution at sea and while fishing.
- Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory that was issued for its Pacific coast following a major earthquake off the Philippine island of Mindanao.
- The advisory warned of potential waves up to one meter and affected a wide area from Ibaraki Prefecture in the east to Kagoshima Prefecture in the southwest.
- Small tsunami waves were observed at several locations, with the largest measuring 30 centimeters, before the alert was fully cancelled on Monday afternoon.
Japan ended a tsunami advisory on Monday (8 June) afternoon after a major earthquake off the Philippine island of Mindanao prompted warnings across a broad section of the country’s Pacific coast.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued the advisory at 9.05am on Monday, warning that waves of up to one metre could reach areas from Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan to Kagoshima Prefecture in the southwest.
The alert, triggered by the quake at about 8.40am Japan time, was fully lifted at 4.50pm.
The advisory also applied to Tokyo’s Izu and Ogasawara island chains in the Pacific, as well as the Okinawa-Amami region spanning Okinawa Prefecture and Kagoshima.
Japan’s first recorded tsunami wave from the quake, measuring several centimetres, reached the city of Okinawa in Okinawa Prefecture at around 12.58pm.
Waves of up to 30 centimetres were observed in Miyazaki, in the prefecture of the same name, while readings of up to 20 centimetres were logged on Chichijima in the Ogasawara chain, in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, and on Kagoshima’s Tanegashima island.
Ayataka Ebita, director of the agency’s Earthquake and Tsunami Observation Division, told a press conference in Tokyo that areas previously covered by the advisory could continue to experience sea-level changes for an extended period.
He urged people to take full precautions when working at sea or fishing.
The Japanese government set up a liaison office at the crisis management centre of the prime minister’s office in Tokyo.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called on people in areas under advisement to follow instructions from the agency and local governments and to take necessary precautions, including evacuation.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato said at a press conference that there had been no reports of Japanese nationals being injured in the Philippine earthquake.
Tokyo would continue to monitor the situation closely and do everything possible to ensure the safety of expatriates, he said.
The agency also issued a tsunami advisory after a massive earthquake struck Mindanao on 2 December 2023.
That alert covered areas from Okinawa to Chiba Prefecture in eastern Japan, with tsunamis observed in many locations and a maximum height of 40 centimetres recorded on Hachijojima in the Izu island chain.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
