http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42473172/ns/world_news-asiapacific/?GT1=43001TOKYO — Japan was rattled by a strong aftershock and tsunami warning Thursday night nearly a month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami flattened the northeastern coast.
The Japan meteorological agency issued a tsunami warning for a wave of up to one meter (3.2 feet). The warning was issued for a coastal area already torn apart by last month's tsunami.
Japan's NHK public television said those in areas where the tsunami warnings were issued should evacuate to higher ground.
Thursday's quake was 7.4 in magnitude and hit 25 miles under the water, officials said. It struck off Japan's eastern coast about 60 miles from Sendai and 90 miles from Fukushima. It was about 215 miles from Tokyo, where buildings shook for about a minute.
According to NHK, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said there are no additional problems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, where workers have been struggling to contain radiation since last month's quake and resulting tsunami.
Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the northeast region devastated by the March 11 earthquake, but few have been stronger than 7.0.
U.S. officials said Thursday's quake is not expected to create a tsunami threat in Hawaii or the West Coast. No tsunami warning, watch or advisory is in effect for these areas.
On the news of the Japan quake, the Dow Jones industrial average fell as many as 96 points before recovering some of those losses. Japan's stock market had already closed by the time the earthquake struck.
