Residents of seven Japanese regions have been urged to flee an oncoming tsunami after a series of powerful earthquakes struck the east Asian country.

A onemetre tsunami has already struck parts of the west coast along the Sea of Japan after a series of more than 20 earthquakes with a magnitude of four or stronger started shortly after 3pm local time (6am GMT).

A larger second tsunami is expected and the Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that waves as high as five metres could strike Ishikawa, one of the affected regions.

Tsunami warnings are in place for the entire length of Japan’s northern coast, running some 1,650 miles from Wakkanai in the far north of Hokkaido to Kyushu in the south.

Warnings have also been issued in Russia’s far eastern island of Sakhalin and city of Vladivostok, as well as South Korea’s Gangwon province. The tsunami waves are not expected to be large enough to endanger life.

People living in coastal areas of seven prefectures were instructed to evacuate to higher ground or to seek refuge on higher floors of sturdy buildings.

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister, has urged authorities to prioritise “human life above all else” and “spare no effort in our emergency disaster responses”.

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