British holidaymakers issued Japan travel warning amid 'heightened risk' of 'major earthquake'

No deaths or major damage had been reported, but a quake on the southernmost main island of Kyushu has triggered a tsunami warning.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has since updated its travel advice to British holidaymakers heading towards the Miyazaki Prefecture, where the earthquake was reported on August 8.

The statement reads: “A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has hit southwestern Japan in and around Miyazaki Prefecture on 8 August.

“Following the earthquake, the Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a Nankai Trough megaquake alert - meaning that there is a heightened risk of a large-scale earthquake which could affect large parts of Japan.

“People in Japan are advised to take precautionary measures for a heightened risk of a further earthquake per the Japan National Tourism Organisation advice and follow any further advice from local and national authorities.”

The Japan Meteorological Agency’s megaquake advisory warned: “If a major earthquake were to occur in the future, strong shaking and large tsunamis would be generated.

“The likelihood of a new major earthquake is higher than normal, but this is not an indication that a major earthquake will definitely occur during a specific period of time.”

The current advisory - the lower of two types of alert that officials can issue - is set to be in place for a week.

It urges residents and visitors to be on higher alert in the coming days, particularly for anyone who cannot evacuate quickly, according to Japan’s NHK broadcaster.

Officials have also asked people to check evacuation routes where needed and that households stock up on supplies.

The warning comes off the back of concerns that Thursday’s earthquake may have been a foreshock.

Japan is one of the most seismically active countries globally. The southern tip of Kyushu has been the site of some of the nation’s most destructive earthquakes over the last 100 or 200 years.

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The Japanese government had previously predicted a 70 to 80 per cent chance of a magnitude eight to nine earthquake happening along the Trough in the next 30 years.

Estimates from that time suggest the number of deaths from such a megaquake could reach 323,000.

It was also estimated that seismic activity of this magnitude could generate tsunamis up to 30m tall.

The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs, according to the United States Geological Survey.