Japanese authorities issued a tsunami alert for the northeast of the country on Sunday after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake was recorded in the Pacific Ocean, close to the country.

A powerful earthquake, with an upgraded magnitude of 6.9 and a depth of about 12 miles, struck off the coast of northern Japan, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Northeastern Japan is prone to earthquakes, including a triple disaster of a quake, tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, just south of Iwate, in March 2011, that killed nearly 20,000 people, ...