Japan Earthquake 2012: 6.8 Quake Results in Small Tsunami on Northern Coast

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook northern Japan Wednesday east of Tokyo, causing a small tsunami on the northern coastline.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the first quake was magnitude 6.8 and the second was 6.1 off the coast of Chiba just east of Tokyo. No damage or injury was reported, according to The Associated Press, after an aftershock of 5.9 magnitude followed.

The earthquake on Wednesday was located on Hokkaido island, 146 miles south of Kushiro, Japan, six miles below the sea surface. The quake did not affect Tokyo nor has there been a Pacific-wide tsunami warning.

The earthquake resulted in small tidal waves on the Pacific coastline, the region where a devastating earthquake and struck Japan last year.

Otsuchi, along with several others towns, issued a precautionary evacuation order to homes along the coast before the initial earthquake, according to prefectural disaster management official Shinichi Motoyama. Tsunami advisories were lifted just over an hour after the second quake, though the JMA warns those fishing, swimming and activities of the like should remain cautious as there are still slight shifts in the sea-level.

The 2012 earthquake comes just days after the first anniversary of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on March 11, 2011, resulting in over 19,000 people reported dead or missing. Japan paid tribute to the lives lost on Sunday for the first anniversary.