Tsunami advisory lifted after magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits Japan's northeast region

Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The JMA earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.

The quake struck at 11.44 am (0244 GMT) off the coast of Aomori prefecture with a depth of 20 km (12 miles), after a bigger, 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit the same region late on Monday.

After Monday's earthquake, the government issued a special advisory warning residents across a wide area, from Hokkaido in the north to Chiba, east of Tokyo, to be on alert for an increased possibility of a powerful earthquake hitting again within a week.

The tremor on Friday measured 4 on Japan's 1-7 seismic intensity scale.