Strong quake hits Japan, tsunami warning issued

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TOKYO, Mar 9 (Reuters): A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit off the coast of northeastern Japan Wednesday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) said, but there were so far no reports of damage from the quake. A tsunami advisory of up to 50 cm (about 20 inches) was issued for northeastern Japan after the quake hit around 11:45 a.m. (0245 GMT), JMA said. "First I felt a jolt that pushed from underneath, then a big sideways tremor that lasted for about 20 seconds," Yoshiyuki Sato, an official at Kurihara City in Miyagi prefecture, about 300 km (186 miles) northeast of Tokyo, told Reuters. The focus of the tremor was 10 km (6 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Aomori prefecture, public broadcaster NHK said.