Tokyo An earthquake struck the northern Pacific Ocean yesterday, raising fears of a tsunami from Japan to Canada and Indonesia.

But Japanese warnings turned out to be a damp squib with no injuries were reported and the biggest waves recorded about 16in (40cm) high.

The earthquake, about 370miles (595km) northeast of Japan’s main northern island of Hokkaido, was a magnitude of 8.1, according to the country’s Meteorological Agency.

The affected area is isolated and the Russian-administered Kuril Islands is the closest populated area. Japan issued warnings to its east coast, north from Tokyo, saying that waves of up to two metres (6½ft) could strike the shore.

In Tokyo the Government set up a communications office to collect information about the tsunami. But the first one recorded on the coast was a mere 16 inches. It struck the northeastern Japanese town of Nemuro 87 minutes after the earthquake. The Japanese agency later cancelled its alert.

About 10,000 Russian inhabitants of the Kuril Islands in far-eastern Russia were taken to higher ground but Russian officials said there were no reports of damage or injuries.

Japan prides itself on having one of the world’s more accurate systems for predicting tsunamis. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that the warning was in effect for both Russia and Japan along with the Pacific islands of Marcus, Wake and Midway.

It issued a tsunami watch for areas including Indonesia, which is still recovering from the devastating earthquake of December 2004, Hawaii, the Philippines and Taiwan.

The quake was too far away to be felt in Japan’s major population centres. (AFP)

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