WATCH: 7.1 magnitude earthquake hits Japan. (X/NHK) A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on Japan's southern island of Kyushu on Tuesday. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres beneath the seabed. A tsunami warning was subsequently issued, with waves of up to 1 metre (3.28 feet) expected to hit parts of the coastline. However, the tsunami threat for Japan's coastline was later removed, according to the US Tsunami Centers. The Japanese government activated emergency earthquake alerts for Kumamoto, urging residents in vulnerable coastal regions to evacuate to higher ground and follow official safety advisories. Public broadcaster NHK reported that tsunami waves of up to the predicted height may have already reached some coastal areas. Authorities continue to monitor the situation and have appealed to residents to remain away from the shoreline until the warning is lifted. The Japanese government issued emergency earthquake alerts for the prefectures of Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Saga, Oita and Miyazaki on the southern island of Kyushu, urging residents to remain vigilant and follow official safety advisories. Japan ranks among the world's most earthquake-prone countries, lying atop four major tectonic plates along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire. The island nation, home to around 125 million people, experiences hundreds of earthquakes each year and accounts for nearly 18% of the world's seismic activity. While most quakes are minor, their impact depends on factors such as magnitude, depth and proximity to populated areas. The country continues to live with the legacy of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, when a 9.0-magnitude undersea quake triggered a devastating tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing and led to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Earlier this year, on April 20, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, injuring at least 10 people and shaking high-rise buildings as far away as Tokyo. The quake prompted authorities to issue a temporary advisory warning of an elevated risk of an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or higher, which was withdrawn after a week without any major aftershocks. Sudhanshu Mishra is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Now. While his day-to-day work centres on news, his writing interests lie in the intersections of cu... View More