An earthquake has struck off the eastern coast of Japan, prompting a small tsunami and evacuations.

A one-metre wave hit Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture following the 7.3 magnitude quake, with many people heeding calls to move to higher ground before all alerts were later lifted.

The quake epicentre was about 245 kilometres south-east of Kamiashi at a depth of about 36 kilometres, according to data from the US Geological Survey.

Miyagi was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

There have been no reports of deaths, injuries or serious damage.

The tsunami warnings had extended from the top of the main island of Honshu down towards Tokyo and evacuations were ordered from some of the affected areas.

The March 2011 quake, which left more than 15,000 people dead and more than 3,200 missing, measured 9.0 on the Richter scale.