A strong earthquake struck Friday off the coast of northeastern Japan in the same region that was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami last year. Tokyo high-rises swayed for several minutes, one city reported a small tsunami and at least two people were reportedly injured.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Miyagi prefecture at 5:18 p.m. The epicentre was 10 kilometres beneath the seabed and 240 kilometres offshore.

After the quake, authorities issued a warning that a tsunami potentially as high as two metres could hit. Ishinomaki, a city in Miyagi, reported that a tsunami of one metre hit at 6:02 p.m.

Miyagi police said there were no immediate reports of damage from the quake or tsunami, although traffic was being stopped in some places to check on roads. Sirens whooped along the coast as people ran for higher ground, but the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no risk of a widespread tsunami.

Meanwhile, the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami danger for British Columbia, Alaska, Washington state, Oregon and California.

A 75-year-old woman fell and was injured while evacuating to flee from the tsunami, public television broadcaster NHK reported. It said a child was reportedly injured in the Miyagi city of Sendai. Miyagi police said they could not confirm those reports.
    
The tsunami alert extended from the tip of the main island of Honshu nearly down to Tokyo, though the warning for the area most likely to be hit was only for the Miyagi coast.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that slammed into northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, killed or left missing some 19,000 people, devastating much of the coast.
    
Immediately following Friday's quake, there were no problems at any of the nuclear plants operated by Fukushima Dai-Ichi operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., said a TEPCO spokesman, Takeo Iwamoto.

(With files from The Canadian Press)