Japan earthquake - latest: Tsunami waves force evacuations as bullet train derailed

Dramatic images are beginning to emerge from Japan following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Fukushima. See the latest below:

Japan has warned that another earthquake of “similar intensity” could hit the country within the next week, according to Kyodo News.

A bullet train has reportedly “derailed” in Japan following the 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Fukushima.

Japan Rail East has suspended rail lines and is investigating reports of the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet train derailment, according to Bloomberg’s Gearoid Reidy.

There were reportedly no injuries among the 96 passengers and crew.

Two earthquakes about an hour apart left buildings shaking in Japan and an estimated two million people without power across the country.

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake about 11:30 pm local time on Wednesday night was followed by a milder 5.6 magnitude aftershock shortly before 1am Thursday.

Video emerging online shows the city skyline shaking, power going out and explosions or flashes in the distance.

The 7.3 magnitude quake near Fukushima was about 63 times less powerful than the 9.1 magnitude quake in a similar area off the coast of Japan 11-years ago.

The 2011 Fukushima earthquake released about 500 times more energy and is the fourth-largest earthquake ever recorded.

The strongest quake on record was a 9.5 quake near Chile in 1960, followed by a 9.2 quake off southern Alaska in 1964, and another 9.1 recorded in the Indian Ocean in 2004.

The epicentre of Wednesday’s earthquake was reportedly just 89 kilometres from the 9.1 magnitude earthquake in 2011.

The earthquake 11-years ago caused a tsunami with 30-foot waves that damaged multiple nuclear reactors on Japan’s Fukushima coast.

An estimated 22,000 were killed in either the initial earthquake, the following tsunami or lingering health consequences.

The epicentre of Wednesday’s earthquake was reportedly just 89 kilometres from the 9.1 magnitude earthquake in 2011.

The earthquake 11-years ago caused a tsunami with 30-foot waves that damaged multiple nuclear reactors on Japan’s Fukushima coast.

An estimated 22,000 were killed in either the initial earthquake, the following tsunami or lingering health consequences.

One nuclear power plant in Fukushima was unaffected and another was being assessed, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said in a press conference.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s office wrote on Twitter that government agencies were making “every effort to respond” to the earthquake.

Almost 39,000 people were told to evacuate Miyagi as a small tsunami hit the Port of Ishinomaki about an hour after the 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Fukushima.

Warnings remained in both Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures of more possible tsunamis of up to one metre above normal tidal levels.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the preliminary depth of the epicentre was 60 kilometres.

A powerful earthquake has shaken Japan and triggered tsunami warnings after it struck off the coast of Fukushima.

The tremor had a magnitude of 7.3 and hit in the ocean around the northeast of the country, meteorologists said.

It rocked large parts of eastern Japan - including Tokyo, where buildings violently shook and power was cut off - as it struck around 11.30pm local time (2pm GMT) on Wednesday.

Zoe Tidman has the breaking news.