An earthquake off the east coast of Honshu – the main island of Japan – has prompted warnings of a new tsunami in the country.

A warning was issued for the north-east of Japan after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck earlier.

Japanese TV reported a wave of up to one metre could strike, with those in the danger zone along the coast warned to move to higher ground.

The area was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami last month which severely damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant.

The latest earthquake was some 78 miles north of Fukushima, which bore the brunt of the previous quake, 40 kilometre offshore.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), which operates Fukushima, says it is checking on the situation at the damaged plant following the latest earthquake.