Small tsunamis reach areas along Japan's Pacific coast

Tokyo, Dec 3 (IANS) The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said that small tsunamis were observed in areas along the country's Pacific coast on Sunday after earthquakes struck waters off a southern Philippine island the previous night.

A 40-cm tsunami was observed on Hachijo Island in the Izu chain near Tokyo at 4:27 a.m., Xinhua news agency quoted the JMA as saying

Coastal areas of Wakayama and Kochi prefectures in western Japan also recorded tsunamis up to 20 cm in height by 5 a.m. local time, according to the JMA.

The weather agency however, lifted all tsunami warnings for Japan at around 9 a.m.

There have so far been no reports of injuries, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, two massive earthquakes measuring 7.4 and 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the country's second-largest island of Mindanao on Saturday night, prompting initial fears of a potential "destructive tsunami".

But the tsunami threat had later passed.