The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported Monday that an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.6 had shook the southwest Japanese island of Kyushu.
According to the EMSC, the earthquake occurred 37 kilometers (23 miles) below the surface.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings for the neighboring Kochi Prefecture and the Miyazaki Prefecture, which was the epicenter of the tremor, shortly after the earthquake, which occurred at 9:19 p.m. local time.
According to the agency, tsunami waves with a maximum height of 3.2 feet have already made their way to these prefectural coastlines.
It is yet unknown how much damage has been done.
Japan is frequently the target of earthquakes and seismic activity because of its location within the Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
Japan’s meteorological service issued a warning in August of last year that the nation was at heightened danger of a significant, once-in-a-century “megaquake.” According to worst-case scenarios, over 300,000 people could be killed if a wall of water up to 100 feet high strikes the Japanese coast.