Jean Mackenzie
Reporting from Noto, Japan

We have been driving through the night to reach the Noto peninsula on the west coast of Japan, where the earthquake struck. We are now travelling up to the epicentre in the northern tip, where the worst affected villages are.

We have just experienced a small earthquake while driving, which shook the steering wheel of our car. There have been a number of these aftershocks since the earthquake yesterday afternoon, with warnings of more to come.

So far, we have seen no obvious signs of damage, but have been passed by dozens of emergency vehicles with rescue teams on their way up to help look for survivors. There are long queues of cars at petrol stations waiting to fill up, and people are lining up at convenience stores, worried about running out of food and water.

It could take us some time to get to the damaged villages. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned that rescue workers may find it difficult to reach those trapped in their homes as some of the roads have been cut off, but has assured people help is on the way.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Emma Ward

Emma Ward, 41, has described feeling "terrified" after experiencing the earthquake on her skiing holiday.

The Briton was in the resort village of Hakuba having travelled to Japan from Singapore, where she lives.

She told the BBC that Monday's quake had hit "without warning", prompting her group to take shelter under a table in a cafe. Glasses and cups could be heard smashing in the kitchen.

Ultimately, the intensity of the tremors caused people to flee the building entirely, she said. “The worst part during the earthquake was not knowing how intense it was going to become. It’s a very frightening experience.”

She had feared an avalanche, but nothing came of it.

Japan’s meteorological agency has lifted all tsunami advisories along the Sea of Japan following Monday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake, public broadcaster NHK reports.

Earlier, all tsunami warnings had been downgraded to “advisories”.

The death toll from Monday’s earthquake has now reached eight, according to public broadcaster NHK.

These images from Monday show people crouching to absorb the impact of the quake.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he wants to assure people affected by the earthquake that help is on its way.

“The Self-Defense Forces will face many difficulties reaching the disaster-hit areas because roads have been cut off but people trapped in buildings should be rescued as soon as possible before the buildings collapse," he says.

"I have ordered Self-Defense Force officials to do everything they can to get to the disaster-hit areas."

Image source, Reuters

Japan is very used to earthquakes on this scale, Dan Faulkner, a professor of geology and earth sciences at the University of Liverpool, tells BBC News.

"In this part of the world we kind of expect events of this kind of size and, in fact 60 years ago, about 200km [124 miles] to the north-east of where this event happened, there was a similar-sized earthquake back then too. So, it's certainly not unknown to have earthquakes of this size in that particular area."

He says Japan is so liable to earthquakes because it is part of the Pacific Rim of fire “where there's lots of huge fault zones and subduction zones where tectonic plates are being thrust back down into the Earth's mantle all the way around the Pacific”.

“And whilst this earthquake didn't happen on one of those subduction zone faults, it's all part of that same system where the tectonic plates are pushing against each other and this earthquake was a thrust fault earthquake where, basically, the Earth's crust will have been pushed up by about 3.5 metres [11ft 6in] in this event.”

Faulkner says while the worst may be over, people can expect more tremors to come.

"Some of the aftershocks that Japan might experience are still going to be pretty large and they could affect infrastructure and buildings which are already weakened by the main event," he says.

"But what we would expect scientifically, I think, in this region, is to see a gradual diminishing of earthquakes and we wouldn't expect anything of a similar size. They should be less but still perhaps some pretty significant aftershocks still to come."

The UK is ready to support Japan and is monitoring developments following Monday’s earthquake, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says.

"Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is a great friend of the UK," he says. "My thoughts are with all those affected by the earthquakes in Japan which have caused such terrible damage."

At least six people have now known to have been killed by the earthquake, according to national broadcaster NHK.All of the deaths are in Ishikawa prefecture, on the west coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, which was the epicentre of Monday's earthquake.

US President Joe Biden says the US "stands ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Japanese people".

He and his wife Jill, he says, are praying for the people of Japan, and his administration is in touch with Japanese officials.

"As close allies, the United States and Japan share a deep bond of friendship that unites our people," Biden says.

"Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time."

Patrick Jackson
Live page editor

It's coming up to 07:30 in Japan and 20:30 GMT here in London. Let's bring you up to speed after an earthquake which led to Japan having its first major tsunami warning since 2011:

• Four people were killed in the cities of Nanao, Wajima and Hakui, according to Kyodo news agency
• Thousands of people spent the night in evacuation shelters, while tens of thousands of people living in the tsunami warning areas were told to find higher ground
• An unknown number of people are trapped under the rubble of dozens of buildings which collapsed in several towns

• The Japanese military has been handing out food, water and blankets to those who had to leave home
• US President Joe Biden has offered Tokyo "any necessary assistance" after the earthquake

Stay with us as we continue to bring you live updates and, for a full recap, you can read our news story here.

Heather Sharp
Live reporter

Image source, Kyodo / Reuters

We're pausing our live coverage now, but before we go, here is a summary of where things stand after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit central Japan just after 16:00 local time on New Year's Day:

• Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and many are spending the night in evacuation centres
• Military personel have been handing out food, water and blankets
• The quake caused dozens of buildings to collapse in several towns, trapping an unknown number of people - but the full extent of the damage will be clearer once dawn comes
• One person has been reported to have been killed following the collapse of a building - and police say another two suffered cardiac arrests
• Earlier, tens of thousands were told to flee to higher ground, in the country's first major tsunami warning since 2011
• Initial warnings of tsunami waves up to 5m were downgraded - first to warnings of waves up to 3m, and now to advisories with a risk of waves up to 1m
• Dozens of aftershocks continued through the evening and Japan's meteorological agency is warning of further quakes in the days ahead

This page was written by Jamie Whitehead, Nathan Williams, Aoife Walsh, Megan Fisher and Michael Sheils McNamee. It was edited by Jasmine Taylor-Coleman and myself.

You can continue to read about the Japan quake in our main text story here.

We're just hearing that Japan's meteorological agency has downgraded its tsunami warnings, external along the Sea of Japan to "advisories".

This means that waves expected are one metre or less - previously the agency was warning of waves up to three metres high.

However, the agency says people should remain alert for more possible earthquakes, Japanese broadcaster NHK reports.

It's just gone 01:30 in Japan (16:30GMT). Once daylight returns we can expect to get a clearer picture of the damage caused by the huge earthquake that hit central Japan earlier. Here's what we know so far:

• One person has been reported killed after a building in Shika town collapsed, while Japan's National Police Agency says two people in Ishikawa prefecture suffered cardiac arrests - their condition is not known
• Several people have been injured in Ishikawa, Niigata and Fukui prefectures, and the fire departments in the cities of Wajima and Suza have received reports of people buried under rubble as well as collapsed buildings
• A huge fire broke out in Wajima - a firefighter told AFP news agency fire engines struggled to reach the scene because of damaged roads
• More than 30,000 households around the epicentre were without power, local utilities said

• Water supplies have been cut off in some areas, while the East Japan Railway Service has halted operations on some of its services

Image source, Joseph Tame

Joseph Tame, who moved to Japan from the UK in 2008, has told the BBC he felt the earthquake from his home just north of Tokyo - 320 miles (514 km) away from the epicentre.

"The house that we're in is about 40 years old and was shaking a fair bit," he said.

"It was quite a shock," he added.

Tame said he had contacted a friend who lived very near the epicentre.

"He told me he, his partner and their cat first evacuated to the roof of their building because of the tsunami risk," he said.

"But when they realised the earthquakes were continuing they realised they had to get off their building because it's not strong enough so they moved to another building.

"He said it was shocking as the shaking is so violent."

Read more here.

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Let's take a look at some photos from Japan now, where tens of thousands of people have been told to flee their homes and many are spending the night in shelters.

Image source, Kyodo / Reuters

Image source, Kyodo / Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Kyodo/Reuters

Two people are seen clinging onto each other while other videos from the city in Ishikawa prefecture show a glimpse inside stations and shops.

We're just hearing that one person has died after a building collapsed in Shika town, in the Ishikawa prefecture, according to Japanese broadcaster NTV.

Separately, two people in Nanao City in the same prefecture suffered cardiac arrest, Japan's National Police Agency has said.

At the moment, we don't know the condition those two people are in.

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Former Japan correspondent, reporting from Taiwan

Image source, Kyodo / Reuters

Looking at the pictures coming from Toyama city in Ishikawa prefecture it is clear this was a very severe and destructive quake. The shaking was extreme and lasted well over a minute.

It is certainly the most severe I have seen of any quake in Japan in the last decade and is reminiscent of the massive quake that hit north-east Japan on 11 March 2011.

So far we have only a glimpse of the full scale of the destruction. It’s already clear that there has been major damage to infrastructure.

Several hundred metres of the main expressway between the cities of Toyama and Kanazawa have been ripped apart by a landslide.

The Noto peninsula is now pretty much cut off from the rest of the prefecture. Scores of houses have collapsed, trapping occupants underneath.

Reported deaths are so far few, but in the coming hours they are certain to grow.

Thousands of people are now spending the night outside in below zero temperatures, fearful of going back into their homes as aftershocks continue to hit.