Japan has issued a warning for tsunami 50 centimeters (20 inches) high for the Izu island chain south of Tokyo after an earthquake measuring about 6.8 according to preliminary results was reported off Japan’s eastern coast on Wednesday.

The quake occurred at 3:11 p.m. (0611 GMT) at the distance of about 200 km from the coast. The Meteorological Agency says the earthquake was centered about 10 km below the ocean floor.

The warning means that local residents are encouraged to leave the area.

"The sea level has not risen so far ... We are urging local residents to be cautious," Mochimaru Koumatsu, an official in Hachijo town, located close to the place where the quake struck.

The 6.8-point strike in October 2004 that hit the Niigata region killed 40 people and hurt over 3,000. The quake that hit the city of Kobe on Jan. 17 measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and killed over 6,400 people.

So far no casualties have been reported from the Wednesday quake. NHK, national television broadcaster, reported that the earthquake measured 1, the lowest level, on Japan’s intensify scale. NHK showed waves hitting bulwarks as they swept ashore, but reported no damage.