The major hazard of this tsunami has now been reduced, experts say, because the risk lessens over time following the initial quake.

However, Prof David Tappin from the British Geological Survey has told Radio 4's World at One there is a unique aspect to a tsunami in this particular area because of the enclosed sea, which means it “might bounce backwards and forwards between the coast of Japan and the coast of Asia”.

He says says the effect is called a seiche, and likens it to sitting in the bath and sloshing the water backwards and forwards.

But Prof Tappin says Japan is "one of the best prepared countries" when it comes to earthquakes and the population is "well educated" about the risks.

He adds he is hopeful there will not be many casualties from today's earthquake because of the country's preparedness.

Over the past few hours, earthquakes have been continuing in central Japan.

About 60 have taken place since 16:00 local time (07:00GMT), when the 7.6 magnitude quake hit the Noto region - the epicentre is marked on the map below.

The quakes that have followed have varied from magnitude 3 to 6.1.

The most recent one, logged as taking place at 23:02 local time (14:03 GMT) was initially reported as being on a scale similar to the initial earthquake in Noto this morning, but has now been logged as magnitude 4.6.

As we reported earlier, Japan's meteorological agency has warned of possible serious earthquakes over the next week, especially over the next two to three days.

Although the "major tsunami warning" has now been downgraded to "tsunami warning", residents are still being advised to remain evacuated as tsunamis are still being recorded.

Image source, .

There's been another strong quake in the Noto area, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK, external.

A person in a car captures significant damage in Uchinada, Ishikawa prefecture.

The road surface of a car park is rippled and cracked as the passenger films out of their open window.

An official from Japan's meteorological agency has urged people to remain evacuated, saying tsunamis are still being recorded, Reuters news agency reports.

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
Former Japan correspondent reporting from Taipei

Image source, Kyodo / Reuters

The large earthquake struck just off the Noto Peninsula at a little after 4pm local time.

It was very shallow, and the shaking was very severe, bringing down buildings in towns and villages along the coast.

For several hours after the quake struck, authorities said the Sea of Japan coast could be hit by tsunamis of up to five metres.

Tens of thousands of people were told to leave their homes and head for higher ground.

It immediately brought back memories March 2011 when a 15m tsunami inflicted massive destruction along Japan’s north-east coast, killing more than 18,000 people.

The threat of a major tsunami has now passed, and the severe tsunami warning that was issued for much of the north-west coast has now been downgraded. But the damage is still severe.

Older houses have been brought down, roads torn up, bridges and railways severely damaged.

Some people are reported trapped under collapsed buildings and hospitals are reporting many injured.

It’s now night in Japan and it won’t be till daybreak that we start to get a full picture of just how extensive the damage has been.

Image source, Reuters

A snowboarder on holiday in Japan's Hakuba Alps was in his hotel room when the earthquake struck.

"The whole room was shaking, the TV was shaking, I had to keep everything on the table," Baldwin Chia told the Reuters news agency.

"My friends were still outside," Chia says, "so my first instinct was to text them, to see if they're okay".

He says he was concerned about avalanches but hadn't received any reports of any taking place.

Chia said that although he felt safe in the room, everything around him was shaking.

"When you hear about earthquakes in Japan," he continues, "you wouldn't expect one to actually experience one," describing the earthquake as "pretty massive".

The Wajima City Fire Department in Ishikawa says it has received at least 30 reports of buildings collapsing, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK is reporting.

The "major tsunami warning" for the Ishikawa Prefecture has been downgraded to a "tsunami warning" but officials are still urging caution, with people in the area being asked to evacuate.

Here's the moment the earthquake hit Toyama City, shaking cars in this car park.

Tsunami warnings have been issued as a result of the earthquake, though the "major tsunami warning" issued in the area around the quake's epicentre has now been downgraded.

Heather Sharp
Live reporter

It's now well into the night in Japan, where tsunami warnings remain in place after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the central region.

Here's what we know so far:

• People have been told to flee to higher ground along hundreds of kilometres of the Sea of Japan coastline
• Initial warnings had said the waves in some places could be up to 5m (16ft), but a "major tsunami warning" in the area around the quake's epicentre has now been downgraded to a "tsunami warning" - meaning waves of up to 3m
• So far the highest recorded wave has been just over a metre
• Around 50 earthquakes - ranging in magnitude from 3.4 to 7.6 - have hit central Japan in the past five hours

• There have been six reported cases of people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, a government spokesman has said, while a huge fire has broken out in the Ishikawa area following the earthquake
• Japan's Meteorological Agency says has warned of further earthquakes in the coming days

• Motorways have been closed and bullet trains between Ishikawa prefecture and Tokyo have been suspended

• No abnormalities have been reported at nuclear sites in the affected area, the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority has said

I'll be editing this live coverage for the next few hours. Stay with us for updates and analysis.

Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Japan's Kanda University, says he felt tremors from the quake for about two minutes earlier today, despite being on the other side of the country in Yokohama.

Speaking to the BBC, he says the earthquake is a “very, very serious thing" for Japan and that "people are very frightened".

"This is the equivalent of a major earthquake and tsunami coming in the middle of Christmas dinner for British people," he says.

"For the Japanese, New Year’s is the day everyone gathers at their extended family’s home and has a meal together.

"At 16:30, this happened. It’s a major disruption. Across the country, people are seeing this on TV with their families. It is very scary."

Georgia's ambassador to Japan is stranded on a bullet train with his children after services were suspended. Despite what he calls "no prospect of recovery", Teimuraz Lezhava shared a smiling selfie on his X account., external

In a second post, he admitted he was a "little worried" as all drinks apart from alcohol were sold out on the train. He later shared another picture showing the family with something to eat.

The family were on their way to Kanazawa.

A huge fire has been seen burning in Wajima in Ishikawa prefecture following the earthquake.

There also were six cases of people being "buried alive" under the rubble of collapsed houses in the city, the government said.

Image source, Kyodo via Reuters

Image source, Kyodo via Reuters

Japan has downgraded its "major tsunami warning" for the Noto region to a lower level "tsunami warning", news agency Reuters reports.

When officials issued the major alert earlier, it was the first time they had done so since the 2011 earthquake in Japan.

Tsunami warnings also remain in place for the neighbouring Niigata and Toyama prefectures.

Image source, .

South Korea has reported small tsunami waves along its eastern coast following the earthquakes in neighbouring Japan.

A tsunami wave of 43cm (1.4ft) reached the eastern province of Gangwon, the Yonhap news agency says.

Earlier authorities told people in the province to move to higher ground of over fears of rising sea levels.

Suranjana Tewari
Reporting from Hakuba in central Japan

I’ve been skiing in the Japanese Alps this week, in the resort of Hakuba. It’s in Nagano prefecture, which borders Toyoma - one of the prefectures where tsunami warnings have been issued.

I was on a shuttle bus when sirens were triggered on the phones of all the passengers, including my own.

“Earthquake Early Warning,” it read. “Strong shaking is expected soon. Stay calm and seek shelter nearby.”

The bus stopped and we felt a light bit of shaking for about a minute.

It was just 16:20 (07:20 GMT), but it was already dark outside in this mountainous region. Roughly an hour and a half later, we received another similar message and the buildings shook for roughly 30 seconds.

With imposing mountain ranges all around, the fear is that tremors will trigger avalanches. Of course the region has an early warning system for those too, and there are no signs of any just yet.

We can bring you more pictures now showing the damage in parts of Ishikawa prefecture from the earthquake.

Image source, Kyodo via Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Kyodo via Reuters

Image source, Kyodo via Reuters

Yoshimasa Hayashi, chief cabinet secretary of Japan, has been giving a news conference, warning of the risk of further earthquakes.

He stressed that the authorities were still collecting information on the damage. There has been no word yet on overall casualties.

However, the government spokesman said there were six reported cases of people trapped under the rubble of collapsed houses.

He could not say if this meant six people or more, but he did say there had been multiple reports of buildings falling down.

The earthquake's magnitude of 7.6 is the largest recorded in the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture since records began in 1885, Japan's Meteorological Agency says.

An agency official also says that the tsunami warning issued earlier was the first major alert of its kind since March 2011, when Japan was struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes on record.

He adds that there is an increasing risk of landslides and fires in affected areas.

Image source, .

Japan is on alert after after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the central region prompted a major tsunami warning. Here's what we know so far:

• People have been told to flee to higher ground along hundreds of kilometres of the Sea of Japan coastline
• Official warnings said the waves in some places could be up to 5m (16ft), but so far the highest recorded has been just over a metre
• Reports from the city of Suzu, near the epicentre in Ishikawa prefecture's Noto region, say multiple buildings have collapsed
• Motorways have been closed and bullet trains between Ishikawa prefecture and Tokyo have been suspended

• No abnormalities have been reported at nuclear sites in the affected area, the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority has said

We're also just getting an update from Japan's Meteorological Agency. So stay with us for more.